Debating Nationalism: The Global Spread of Nations (Debates in World History)

About the Author
Florian Bieber is Professor of Southeast European History and Politics and Director of the Center for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. He holds the Jean Monnet Chair on the Europeanisation of Southeastern Europe. He has held the Luigi Einaudi Chair at Cornell University, USA, and was a Visiting Fellow at the Remarque Institute at NYU, USA, and London School of Economics, UK. He is the President of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN). He has published extensively on the history and politics of Southeastern Europe, focusing on questions of nation-building, minorities and democracy. Florian is the author or editor of several books, including Debating Nationalism (Bloomsbury, 2020), The Rise of Authoritarianism in the Western Balkans (2019) and Negotiating Unity and Diversity in the European Union (2021).
Peter N. Stearns is Professor Emeritus in the Dept of History at George Mason University. His most recent publications include, as author, Cultural Change in Modern World History (Bloomsbury, 2018), Peacebuilding Through Dialogue (Virginia, 2018), Shame: A Brief History (Illinois, 2017), Sexuality in World History, Ed.II (Routledge, 2017), The Industrial Revolution in World History Ed.IV (Westview, 2016), Globalization in World History, Ed.II (Routledge, 2016), Childhood in World History, Ed.III (Routledge, 2016), The Industrial Turn in World History (Routledge, 2016), Gender in World History (Routledge, 2015), Debating the Industrial Revolution (Bloomsbury, 2015); and as editor, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World: 1750 to the Present (Oxford, 2008).
This concise introduction offers an overview of the global rise and spread of nationalism since the late 18th century. Reflecting on key themes and existing scholarship it presents case studies and primary sources to track the emergence of the modern nation, and understand how nationalism has given rise to phenomena such as identity-based conflict, authoritarian politics and populist movements.
Debating Nationalism uses an inclusive perspective that goes beyond a Western European focus to explore how nationalism has expressed itself in nation states and influenced a range of political ideologies over the last 300 years. It engages with the key debates within nationalism studies such as the origins of nations, the mechanisms and actors that reinforce it and the dynamics of ethnic conflict. Using a historical lens to shed light on contemporary issues, it also considers debates around migration, diversity and authoritarian politics found in new nationalism in the modern day.
This book includes a dedicated chapter as a guide to key debates and further reading alongside a glossary of terms to help students achieve a holistic understanding of the history of nationalism.