In the early 1990s Italy faced the collapse of the established political parties and the increasing prominence of the secessionist Northern League had public commentators debating whether Italy, after 130 years as a unified state, constituted a nation at all. But Italy remained intact into the next century as is its own unique national creation. This new study examines this phenomenon and offers a detailed discussion of Italy's historical development. It argues that the exigencies of state-formation were more important in the founding of the Kingdom of Italy than nationalism, and then...

This first volume in the series looks at a region that is all too often viewed through the prism of European experience: India and Pakistan. Ian Talbot provides a wide-ranging study of nationalism in a non-European context, showing how the 'invention' of modern India and Pakistan drew heavily for inspiration on indigenous values.

Analyzing both the effects of colonial rule and the post-colonial aftermath, the book is a readable and up-to-date introduction to the major issues in the contemporary history of the sub-continent and an examination of a recent trend in historical writing...

At the heart of South Africa's 'miracle' transition from intractable ethno-racial conflict to democracy was an improvised nation born out of war weariness, hope, idealism and calculated pragmatism on the part of the elites who negotiated the compromise settlement. In the absence of any of the conventional bonds of national consciousness, the improvised nation was fixed on the civic identity and national citizenship envisaged in the new constitution.

In the twentieth anniversary year of the country's democracy, South Africa reviews the progress of nation-building in...

Part of the successful 'Inventing the Nation' history series, this book provides an authoritative and compelling history of Spain in the modern period. Humlebaek places a strong emphasis on the construction of the Spanish national identity and looks at how this identity has emerged and survived amidst the tensions created by the competing, distinct regional identities that exist within the country. Language and language policy, decisive factors in the development of these tensions, are thoroughly examined as Carsten Humlebaek explores the history of Spain along with the very nature of what...

Until the Second World War Poland was characteristically multi-cultural, with about one-third of its population belonging to minority communities. Today it stands out as a relatively culturally homogenous country.

Rather than providing a simple narrative account of Polish history and the nation-building process, this book highlights those historical moments that have had a lasting impact on Polish identity debates and on the self-definition of the nation in various historical-political narratives. It also offers a juxtaposition of the nation-building ideas espoused and symbolized by...