European Nations: Explaining Their Formation

One of the world’s leading theorists of nationalism offers a new synthesis

In the history of modern political thought, no topics have attracted as much attention as nationalism, nation-formation, and patriotism. A mass of literature has grown around these vexed issues, muddying the waters, and a level-headed clarification is long overdue.

Rather than adding another theory of nationalism to this maelstrom of ideas, Miroslav Hroch has created a remarkable synthesis, integrating apparently competing frameworks into a coherent system that tracks the historical genesis of European nations through the sundry paths of the nation-forming processes of the nineteenth century. Combining a comparative perspective on nation-formation with invaluable theoretical insights, European Nations is essential for anyone who wants to understand the historical roots of Europe’s current political crisis.

Miroslav Hroch is an Emeritus Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the Charles University in Prague. He has written several books on modern nationalism and nation formation, including Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe and In the National Interest: Demands and Goals of European National Movements of the Nineteenth Century: A Comparative Perspective.