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What do Canadian hockey games, religious riots in India and chest-thumping Chinese blockbusters have in common? They are all expressions of nationalism, a centuries-old political ideology that has become more salient than ever in recent years. In country after country and issue after issue, in newspaper articles, scholarly analyses and popular culture, it recurs as one of the most pervasive trends of our time. The current war in Ukraine and the rise of Donald Trump are only two of the most prominent examples of how it affects current events.

My Country Is Better Than Your Country: A Global Survey of Nationalism takes readers on a world tour of how feelings of national pride and ethnic solidarity affect international diplomacy and domestic politics while combining key historical background information with the issues dominating today's headlines. Learn about everything from Latino dances and Canadian beer commercials to Thai noodles and Hungarian poetry, and see familiar historical events like World War II and the apartheid era through an insightful new lens. You'll see how historical processes stretching back even to ancient times inform ongoing topics like politics in the European Union and the Iranian nuclear program. You'll come away with a renewed appreciation for how nationalism affects political dynamics and maybe even see your own country in a new light.

Eric Stimson works for a national delegation at the United Nations. His previous roles have included navigating the US State Department's bureaucracy, editing at the Brookings Institution and writing entertainment news articles for Anime News Network. He has degrees in History from the University of California, Berkeley and International Affairs from the George Washington University.