This rich source book informs its reader in a comparative perspective about the political and social-economic past and present of fifteen Western, Central and Eastern European countries. This includes the economic and social aspects of the development of the nation state, descriptions of the current political structures and institutions, an account of the types of ethnic composition of the populations, definitions of citizenship and a background to the existing political parties and preferences. The countries involved are: the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, France, Spain and Italy. The authors are scholars in the fields of nationalism and ethnic conflict and they were invited to write their country chapters along the lines of a common format, paying special attention to the notion of state and nation building processes, citizenship definitions and minority issues. This book is a comprehensive reference guide for students and scholars in the fields of social sciences, European studies, history and other related disciplines and generally to those who are interested in the past and present of any one of the large number of countries described.

An overview of the contending approaches to the nation and nationalism, in a European context

In the history of modern political thought, no topics have attracted as much attention as nationalism, nation-formation, and patriotism. A mass of literature has grown around these vexed issues, muddying the waters, and a level-headed clarification is long overdue. Rather than adding another theory of nationalism to this maelstrom of ideas, Miroslav Hroch has created a remarkable synthesis, integrating apparently competing frameworks into a coherent system that tracks the historical genesis of European nations through the sundry paths of the nation-forming processes of the nineteenth century. Combining a comparative perspective on nation-formation with invaluable theoretical insights, European Nations is essential for anyone who wants to understand the historical roots of Europe's current political crisis.

A comprehensive and revealing compilation of essays analyzing the varied dimensions of national identities and nationalisms across world regions and through time. The pervasiveness of nationalism, its many manifestations over the centuries, and the widely scattered way it has been studied make it a particularly difficult subject to approach and explore. ABC-CLIO offers the finest comprehensive reference available on an essential topic in modern world history. Across four volumes, Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview covers all aspects of nationalism, in all parts of the world, from the time of the French Revolution to the present day. Nations and Nationalism helps students, researchers, and other interested readers explore national identities and nationalistic movements in historical context. Organized chronologically, its four volumes combine thematic essays on different characteristics of nationalism with case studies of key historical developments involving specific nations at specific times. The encyclopedia focuses on Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, with featured coverage of nationalist cultural creations, including literature, music, symbols, and mythologies.

This clear and accessible textbook provides an introduction to the key issues now shaping the new Europe and its citizens.

This book introduces and maps the complex interaction between internationalization, nation-state and democracy to provide a new basis for understanding political change in contemporary Europe. The book: introduces the concept of internationalization, considers how it relates to its near-synonoym globalization, and explains the dynamics of the internationalization process; assesses the impact and implications for nation-states, national identities and political cultures; and addresses the problem of making internationalized democracy work at national and European levels. Throughout the text theoretical ideas and concepts are accessibly introduced and illustrated with a wide range of empirical examples from across Europe.

This text presents the work of scholars from all over Europe who examine processes of integration and disintegration at the level of nation states, federations, regions and Europe overall.

′With its list of distinguished contributors and its wide range of topics, the handbook is surely destined to become an invaluable resource for all serious students of nationalism′ - Michael Billig, Professor of Social Sciences at Loughborough University and author of ′Banal Nationalism′ (SAGE 1995) ′The persistence - some would say: revival - of nationalism across the recent history of modernity, in particular the past two decades, has taken many scholars in the social sciences by surprise. In response, interest in the analysis of nationalism has increased and given rise to a great variety of new angles under which to study the phenomenon. What was missing in the cacophony of voices addressing nationalism was a volume that brought them together and confronted them with each other. This handbook does just that. It deserves particular praise for the wide range of approaches and topic included and for the systematic attempt at studying nationalism as a phenomenon of our time, not a remnant from the past′ - Peter Wagner, Professor of Social and Political Theory, European University Institute; and Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick ′For students concerned with the contemporary study of nationalism this will be an invaluable publication. The three-fold division into approaches, themes and cases is a very solid and sensible one. The editors have commissioned essays from leading scholars in the field [and]this handbook provides the best single-volume overview of contemporary nationalism′ - John Breuilly, Professor of Nationalism and Ethnicity, London School of Economics Nationalism has long excited debate in political, social and cultural theory and remains a key field of enquiry among historians, anthropologists, sociologists as well as political scientists. It is also one of the critical media issues of our time. There are, however, surprisingly few volumes that bring together the best of this intellectual diversity into one collection. This Handbook gives readers a critical survey of the latest theories and debates and provides a glimpse of the issues that will shape their future. Its three sections guide the reader through the theoretical approaches to this field of study, its major themes - from modernity to memory, migration and genocide - and the diversity of nationalisms found around the globe. The overall aim of this Handbook is to relate theories and debates within and across a range of disciplines, illuminate themes and issues of central importance in both historical and contemporary contexts, and show how nationalism has impacted upon and interacted with other political and social forms and forces. This book provides a much-needed resource for scholars in international relations, political science, social theory and sociology.

This volume analyses and compares different forms of nationalism across a range of European countries and regions during the long nineteenth century. It aims to put detailed studies of nationalist politics and thought, which have proliferated over the last ten years or so, into a wider European context. By means of such contextualization, together with new and systematic comparisons, What is a Nation? Europe 1789-1914 reassesses the arguments put forward in the principal works on nationalism as a whole, many of which pre-date the proliferation of case studies in the 1990s and which, as a consequence, make only inadequate reference to the national histories of European states. The study reconsiders whether the distinction between civic and ethnic identities and politics in Europe has been overstated and whether it needs to be replaced altogether by a new set of concepts or types. What is a Nation? explores the relationship between this and other typologies, relating them to complex processes of industrialization, increasing state intervention, secularization, democratization and urbanization. Debates about citizenship, political economy, liberal institutions, socialism, empire, changes in the states system, Darwinism, high and popular culture, Romanticism and Christianity all affected - and were affected by - discussion of nationhood and nationalist politics. The volume investigates the significance of such controversies and institutional changes for the history of modern nationalism, as it was defined in diverse European countries and regions during the long nineteenth century. By placing particular nineteenth-century nationalist movements and nation-building in a broader comparative context, prominent historians of particular European states give an original and authoritative reassessment, designed to appeal to students and academic readers alike, of one of the most contentious topics of the modern period.

`In this excellent and thought-provoking book. Hutchinson has taken the debate about nations and nationalism a significant step forward. His view of nations as zones of conflict is a useful and appropriate way of approaching this subject, making an important contribution to the field - one that may come to shape the literature′ - Paul Hopper, School of Historical and Critical Studies, University of Brighton What is the relationship between nations and conflict? Is globalization really eroding national sovereignty and cultural unity? This novel and compelling book explores such questions, arguing that it is wrong to assume that nations are culturally uniform. Hutchinson asserts that resting on older diverse ethnic identities, nations adapt from the unpredictable challenges of modernity, and such plurality makes them prone to cultural wars. He redefines nation-state formation as an outcome of unending and reversible processes, stating that even when nationalists win control, the nation state is never hegemonic since it is only one of many actors in the modern world.