Europe's New Nationalism: States and Minorities in Conflict - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195091485 ISBN 13: 9780195091489

Publisher: OUP USA, 1997

Synopsis

The end of the Cold War has witnessed the re-emergence of nationalism as a major force in Europe. The collapse of Yugoslavia, the newly won independence of the Baltic states, the unification of Germany, the wars in Bosnia and Georgia, and the strength of xenophobic politics in France all attest to the salience of nationalism. What explains nationalism's renewed importance in Europe? What distinguishes the various expressions of nationalism across Europe today? Why is nationalism associated with conflict in some cases and not in others? Is nationalism enhancing or undermining the prospects for democratic development within Europe? How should Europe respond to the challenges posed by nationalism? In this book, 14 leading scholars and journalists from across the region reflect on the meaning and implications of Europe's 'new nationalism'.

About this title

Review:

Part of the collection's strength is the varied national backgrounds of the contributors and this allows particular insight into the problems that they are analysing ... Alex Grigorievs on the Baltic predicament and Adam Michnik on the former Yugoslavia provide illuminating analysis. (Peter Waldron, Immigrants & Minorities, Vol.19, No.1, March 2000.)

An excellent collection of essays on a most timely subject - contributes significantly to an understanding of European politics beyond the traditional class analysis. (Timothy J. White, Xavier University)

With nationalism re-emerging as a major force in Europe, this multidisciplinary, multinational collection of attempts to understand its impact on European politics represents a useful and welcome addition to the ongoing discussion. (Liah Greenfeld, Boston University)

Europe's New Nationalism examines the forces which have buffeted the continent since the end of the Cold War. Its thoughtful essays identify the roots of those forces in a period when on both sides of the old Iron Curtain there was a common illusion that nationalism was on its way out. Comprehensive and balanced in its treatment of both Eastern and Western Europe, and of majority and minority movements, it is an excellent guide to the difficult landscape of late twentieth century nationalism. (Martin Woollacott, The Guardian)

Ranging across Europe, from Georgia to Scotland, this impressive collection exposes the strikingly different nationalisms that have all too often been conflated into a single phenomenon. Building on recent theories of the nation, the articles interrogate nationalism's troubled relationship with empires and states, minorities and diasporas, liberalism and gender. No easy answers are given, but by grounding the questions in specific national experiences, the editors and authors give us essential guideposts to what lies ahead. (Ronald Grigor Suny, University of Chicago)

This book addresses what is becoming a familiar issue, but does it in an original and thought-provoking way. A strong and diverse set of contributors move us well beyond the cliches of ethnic conflict, putting nationalism in its full theoretical and historical context, addressing the challenge it poses to established western states as well as the new post-communist states of eastern Europe. (Lawrence Freedman, King's College London)

This collection of essays does indeed cover the principal currents of thinking about European nationalism ... outstanding quality of some of the individual contributions, which make this book resommendable reading. (Maarten Theo Jans, Nations and Nationalism Vol.3 Part 2 1997)

From the Back Cover:

The end of the Cold War has witnessed the re-emergence of nationalism as a major force in Europe. With the collapse of Yugoslavia, the newly won independence of the Baltic states, the unification of Germany, the civil wars in Bosnia and Georgia, and the rise of xenophobia in France, the issue of nationalism in Europe could not be more salient. But what explains nationalism's renewed importance in Europe? The book identifies and examines the principal questions raised by the resurgence of nationalism in post-Cold War Europe. Controversial and timely, the writings offer fresh perspectives from different intellectual and ideological points of view and suggest possible solutions which are bound to spark debate about the nature and likely impact of contemporary European nationalism.

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0195091485
• ISBN 13: 9780195091489
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 252
• Editor: Caplan Richard, Feffer John