Product Description

For the last two centuries, nationalism has been a central feature of society and politics. Few ideologies can match its power and resonance and no other symbolic language has such worldwide appeal and resilience. However, nationalism is more than an ideological movement – it is also a form of public culture which draws on much older cultural and symbolic forms.


This book provides a concise, accessible introduction to the concept of nationalism. It focuses on competing paradigms and theories of nations and nationalism, and analyses the subject in terms of ideology, theory and history.


The approach is broadly comparative and interdisciplinary, with concrete examples and a time–scale stretching from the ancient world to the contemporary global age. The book concludes with an assessment of the prospects of nationalism and of the transcendence of nations and nation states.


Anthony Smith′s book will appeal to all those interested in this dynamic subject, including students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, history, politics and international relations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #188378 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
"The most brilliant summary of ′modernization theory′ available." Times Literary Supplement

"Smith′s Nationalism will prove to be an excellent introduction for students of nationality; but, once again, it is gratifyingly more than that" Steven Grosby, Ethnic and Racial Studies

"A clearly organized, eminently useful introduction." Journal of Peace Research

Journal of Peace Research
A clearly organized, eminently useful introduction.

From the Back Cover
For the last two centuries, nationalism has been a central feature of society and politics. Few ideologies can match its power and resonance and no other symbolic language has such worldwide appeal and resilience. However, nationalism is more than an ideological movement – it is also a form of public culture which draws on much older cultural and symbolic forms.

This book provides a concise, accessible introduction to the concept of nationalism. It focuses on competing paradigms and theories of nations and nationalism, and analyses the subject in terms of ideology, theory and history.

The approach is broadly comparative and interdisciplinary, with concrete examples and a time–scale stretching from the ancient world to the contemporary global age. The book concludes with an assessment of the prospects of nationalism and of the transcendence of nations and nation states.

Anthony Smith′s book will appeal to all those interested in this dynamic subject, including students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, history, politics and international relations.

Customer Reviews

Excellent summary of Nationalism
This book is a reader on nationalism that does an excellent summary - perhaps the best summary around - of all the key developments on thought about nationalism. This is a field that has rapidly expanded over the last few decades and thus profits greatly from this work of synthesis and comparative analysis. One of the great things about the book is its inclusion of extracts from the writings of luminaries in the field, from Joseph Stalin and Max Weber to more recent commentators like Eric Hosbawm and Benedict Anderson.

The book is divided into a number of sections, each with an introduction and a selection of extracts from a number of writers.

[...]

Students will find this extremely useful as a general survey of the subject. General readers will also be interested the issues flagged up, which bear immense relevance to contemporary politics, society and culture.

Without doubt, a five-star contribution to the field.

An excellent introduction to nationalism.
Smith analysis the main writers on Nationalism and related concepts. It is an excellent introduction and is very useful to read in conjunction with readers in nationalism and/or major works in nationalism. He discusses the main areas surrounding nationalism including, concepts, ideologies, theories and prospects.

An excellent and stimulating introduction to the subject.
I would recommend this as the first place to go for anyone studying the complex subject of nationalism and national identity. The wide-ranging extracts are concise and well-chosen, and the introductory comments to each section are very helpful.