Synopses & Reviews
The formation of nation-states is as much the result of developments regarding land and people, as of military and political struggle. How nationalists imagined the borders of their desired territory, and how they defined the nation have determined the nature of the struggle. Spatial Conceptions of the Nation looks at the various aspects and stages of this process in Greece and Turkey -- two states where alternative principles establishing the basis for territory and population continue to compete. This book considers the intellectual and political conditions within which variously demarcated national spaces were imagined and considers the debates, social forces, and world-historical events that have affected national boundaries and conceptions of the nation.
Review
“As to the volumes readership and utility, chapters may be ideal for inclusion in undergraduate courses ranging from area studies to sociology to comparative politics. As a resource, I would regard it and the other volumes in the series as essential acquisitions for any research library.” - Kyle T. Evered, The Arab World Geographer
About the Author
Nikiforos Diamandouros is Professor of Political Science at the University of Athens and European Ombudsman. Thalia Dragonas is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Athens. Çaglar Keyder is Professor of Sociology at Bogaziçi University.
Table of Contents
* Introduction * PART I * The Imaginary Topographies of the Megali Idea: National Territory as Utopia—Anastasia Stouraiti and Alexander Kazamias * Urban Space and Nationalism: Changing Local Networks in the Nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire—Yonca Koksal * From Ottoman Territory to a Greek State: Hypotheses on an Unfinished Rupture—Yannis Tsiomis * Sisyphian Task or Procrustean Bed? Matching State and Church Borders and Promised Lands in Greece—Abastassios Anasstassiadis * The Role of Religion and Geography in Turkish Nationalism: The Case of Nurettin Topçu—M. Asim Karaömerliou * Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Dilemmas—Nur Yalman * PART II * The Materiality of Sovereignty: Geographical Expertise and Changing Place Names in Northern Cyprus—Yael Navaro-Yashin * Greek Cypriot National Identity: A Clash between Geography and History * Caesar V. Mavratsas * PART III * Nationalisms vs Millets: Building Collective Identities in Ottoman Thrace—Paraskevas Konortas * Contested Territories and the Quest for Ethnology: People and Places in Izmir 1919-22—Georgios Agelopoulos * Antakya between Empire and Nation—Reat Kasaba * Narratives of Istanbuls Ottoman Heritage—Ayse Oncu *