Nations and Nationalism

Nationalism has become a key area of political theory over recent years, with a huge expansion in the amount of literature available. Yet there are very few Readers which bring together the best and most representative of these works in one volume. This Reader includes both the core texts in the area which are required for any course on nationalism, and a selection of more interesting, less mainstream pieces - for example from post-communism and feminism, and debates which have taken place over issues such as citizenship, migration and asylum - with the aim of engaging the reader with some of the contemporary debates which have reconfigured our understanding of nationalism.The overall aim of the Reader is to allow students to draw together and relate theories and debates within and across a range of disciplines, illuminating themes and issues of central importance in both historical and contemporary contexts, and showing how nationalism has evolved and has impacted upon and interacted with other political and social forms and forces.Following a substantial introduction which provides the historical background, the Reader is divided into six sections: (1) The Origins of Nationalism; (2) Approaches to Nationalism; (3) Differentiating Nationalism – Nationalism, Racism, Ethnicity; (4) Forms of Nationalism; (5) National Self-Determination and Nationalist Mobilisation; (6) Globalisation, Citizenship and Nationalism.Key Features:• Offers a mix of traditional texts from classic writers such as Gellner, Smith, Anderson and Breuilly and more innovative readings from fields such as post-communism and feminism• Covers topical debates surrounding citizenship, self-determination, and migration• The introduction provides the necessary historical background for understanding recent debates and places the contributions in their immediate context• Clear guidance for further reading is given at the end of each section

Philip Spencer is Associate Dean in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Kingston University. He is co-author (with Howard Wollman) of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction (Sage, 2002). Howard Wollman is Head of the School of Health and Social Sciences at Napier University.