Synopses & Reviews
Despite many predictions made over the last two hundred years that nation-states and nationalism are transient phenomena that will eventually fade away, the historical record and contemporary events show otherwise. Nationalism still remains the most popular, potent and resilient ideological discourse and the nation-state the only legitimate mode of territorial rule.
This innovative and concise book provides an in-depth analysis of the processes involved in the emergence, formation, expansion and transformation of nation-states and nationalisms as they are understood today. Sinisa Malesevic examines the historical predecessors of nation-states (from hunting and gathering bands, through city-states, to modernizing empires) and explores the historical rise of organizational and ideological powers that eventually gave birth to the modern nation-state. The book also investigates the ways in which nationalist ideologies were able to envelop the microcosm of family, kin, residential and friendship networks. Other important topics covered along the way include: the relationships between nationalism and violence; the routine character of nationalist experience; and the impacts of globalization and religious revivals on the transformation of nationalisms and nation-states.
This insightful analysis of nationalisms and nation-states through time and space will appeal to scholars and students in sociology, politics, history, anthropology, international relations and geography.
Review
"The best surveys of a field are based on a clearly articulated and original position. Malesevic's wonderful book reveals the sinews of nationalism in the growth of bureaucracy and in increasing ideological capacity, thereby casting light on a whole range of issues. This book will have readers for years to come."
John A. Hall, McGill University
Review
"Nation-states and nationalism remain hotly contested topics. What are they and where do they come from? Malešević’s approach is both original and arresting: to stress not culture or biological descent but organization, ideology, and transformations of solidarity. This casts the debate in a novel form, and is bound to give this book a wide and attentive readership."
Krishan Kumar, University of Virginia
"Theoretically sophisticated yet eminently readable, this book provides an excellent introduction to the study of nationhood and nationalism."
Rogers Brubaker, University of California, Los Angeles
About the Author
Sinisa Malesevic is professor of sociology at University College Dublin, Ireland, and a member of the Royal Irish Academy.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements viii
1. The Salience of Nationalism 1
2. Group Solidarities before the Nation-State 20
3. The Birth and Expansion of Nationalisms 55
4. Nationalist Ideologies and Violence 89
5. The Omnipotence of Triviality 120
6. Beyond National Identity 155
7. The Future of Nationalisms 180
Notes 199
Bibliography 208
Index 229