Advanced Introduction to Nationalism: Second Edition (Elgar Advanced Introductions series)

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.

This updated second edition presents nationalism as the most important social force shaping the ways in which people live their lives. It explains the formative influence of nationalism in the public spheres of politics and the economy, as well as the private spheres of emotional wellbeing and mental illness. In this new edition, Liah Greenfeld adds the discussion of civilization to concepts addressed in the original edition, providing an original, meaningful, logical definition of the concept, and allowing for a reliable delineation of the three civilizations coexisting in the world today: the monotheistic one, the Indic, and the Sinic. She explains how nationalism is modified by the civilizational background. Basing its conclusions on over 35 years of original comparative historical research, this book bears the characteristic Liah Greenfeld imprint: fact-based discussion, logical rigor, unexpected connections, and an exceptionally wide range of issues woven together to explain the way we live now.

Key features of the second edition include:

• preface addressing the spread of nationalism into China and India
• updated reading lists, directing students and scholars towards useful resources for further in-depth study

The late Liah Greenfeld, formerly University Professor and Professor of Sociology, Political Science, and Anthropology, Boston University, USA