Nations and Nationalism
New Perspectives on the Past
2. Edition May 2006
208 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBN:
978-1-4051-3442-2
John Wiley & Sons
This updated edition of Ernest Gellner's classic exploration
of the roots of nationalism includes an extended introduction from
John Breuilly, tracing the way the field has changed over the past
two decades.
* As pertinent today as it was when it was first published in
1983.
* Argues that nationalism is a product of
industrialization.
* The new edition includes references to important work on
nationalism published since 1983.
* Second Edition not available in the USA.
Series Editor's Preface.
Introduction by John Breuilly.
Acknowledgements.
1. Definitions.
State and nation.
The nation.
2. Culture in Agrarian Society.
Power and culture in the agro-literature society.
The varieties of agrarian rulers.
3. Industrial Society.
The society of perpetual growth.
Social genetics.
The age of universal high culture.
4. The Transition to an Age of Nationalism.
A note on the weakness of nationalism.
Wild and garden culture.
5. What is a Nation.
The course of true nationalism never did run smooth.
6. Social Entropy and Equality in Industrial Society.
Obstacles to entropy.
Fissures and barriers.
A diversity of focus.
7. A Typology of Nationalisms.
The varieties of nationalist experience.
Diaspora nationalism.
8. The Future of Nationalism.
Industrial culture - one or many?.
9. Nationalism and Ideology.
Who is for Nuremberg?.
One nation, one state.
10. Conclusion.
What is not being said.
Summary.
Select bibliography.
Bilbliography of Ernest Gellner's writing: Ian Jarvie.
Index
Introduction by John Breuilly.
Acknowledgements.
1. Definitions.
State and nation.
The nation.
2. Culture in Agrarian Society.
Power and culture in the agro-literature society.
The varieties of agrarian rulers.
3. Industrial Society.
The society of perpetual growth.
Social genetics.
The age of universal high culture.
4. The Transition to an Age of Nationalism.
A note on the weakness of nationalism.
Wild and garden culture.
5. What is a Nation.
The course of true nationalism never did run smooth.
6. Social Entropy and Equality in Industrial Society.
Obstacles to entropy.
Fissures and barriers.
A diversity of focus.
7. A Typology of Nationalisms.
The varieties of nationalist experience.
Diaspora nationalism.
8. The Future of Nationalism.
Industrial culture - one or many?.
9. Nationalism and Ideology.
Who is for Nuremberg?.
One nation, one state.
10. Conclusion.
What is not being said.
Summary.
Select bibliography.
Bilbliography of Ernest Gellner's writing: Ian Jarvie.
Index
"Over ten years after his death, Gellner's impact remains
unparalleled. We are captivated by the explanatory power of
Gellner's crystalline prose enriched by flowing sequences of
causations. The reader is typically enchanted by Gellner's logical
rigour as if mesmerised by the contemplation of an art masterpiece.
We should wonder whether we are dealing with a scholar or with a
poet. The answer is probably both." Nations and Nationalism
"Breuilly's new introduction provides an excellent
critical overview of Gellner's writings on nationalism,
judiciously evaluating his ideas while also providing insights into
their place and continuing significance within the wider
historiography of nationalism studies." Paul Lawrence, The Open
University
"Nations and Nationalism has become such an intrinsic
part of the standard literature that it is regularly cited by both
those who share its views and those who distinguish their approach
from Gellner's."
Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions
"The second edition of this canonical text comes with a
compelling Introduction by John Breuilly which revisits Gellner's
theory in the light of contemporary debates on nationalism."
Umut Özkyrymly, Istanbul Bilgi
University
reviews of the first edition:
"Brilliant, provocative ... a great book." New
Statesman
"An important book ... a new starting line from which all
subsequent discussions of nationalism will have to begin." New
Society
"A better explanation than anyone has yet offered of why
nationalism is such a prominent principle of political legitimacy
today ... a terse and forceful work ... the product of great
intellectual energy and an impressive range of knowledge." Times
Literary Supplement
"Gellner's short book is an incisive, penetrating and persuasive
discussion of how the nation-states of the modern industrial world
differ from earlier states ... Gellner uses this analysis to
explain the force of nationalism in the modern world."
International Security
"Gellner's range is wide, covering the ideas of some modern
thinkers from Marx, Malinowski and Carr to heideggar, Hroch, Havel
and Said." Race and Class
unparalleled. We are captivated by the explanatory power of
Gellner's crystalline prose enriched by flowing sequences of
causations. The reader is typically enchanted by Gellner's logical
rigour as if mesmerised by the contemplation of an art masterpiece.
We should wonder whether we are dealing with a scholar or with a
poet. The answer is probably both." Nations and Nationalism
"Breuilly's new introduction provides an excellent
critical overview of Gellner's writings on nationalism,
judiciously evaluating his ideas while also providing insights into
their place and continuing significance within the wider
historiography of nationalism studies." Paul Lawrence, The Open
University
"Nations and Nationalism has become such an intrinsic
part of the standard literature that it is regularly cited by both
those who share its views and those who distinguish their approach
from Gellner's."
Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions
"The second edition of this canonical text comes with a
compelling Introduction by John Breuilly which revisits Gellner's
theory in the light of contemporary debates on nationalism."
Umut Özkyrymly, Istanbul Bilgi
University
reviews of the first edition:
"Brilliant, provocative ... a great book." New
Statesman
"An important book ... a new starting line from which all
subsequent discussions of nationalism will have to begin." New
Society
"A better explanation than anyone has yet offered of why
nationalism is such a prominent principle of political legitimacy
today ... a terse and forceful work ... the product of great
intellectual energy and an impressive range of knowledge." Times
Literary Supplement
"Gellner's short book is an incisive, penetrating and persuasive
discussion of how the nation-states of the modern industrial world
differ from earlier states ... Gellner uses this analysis to
explain the force of nationalism in the modern world."
International Security
"Gellner's range is wide, covering the ideas of some modern
thinkers from Marx, Malinowski and Carr to heideggar, Hroch, Havel
and Said." Race and Class
Ernest Gellner was born in Paris in 1925 and brought up in
Prague, fleeing with his family to England in 1939. He taught at
the LSE from 1949, where he was Professor of Philosophy with
special reference to Sociology from 1962 until 1984, when he became
William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of
Cambridge. At the end of his life, in 1995, he was Director of the
Centre for the Study of Nationalism, part of the Central European
University, in Prague. He wrote many books, among them Words and
Things (1959), Thought and Change (1964), Saints of
the Atlas (1969), Legitimation of Belief (1974), The
Psychoanalytic Movement (1985), Plough, Sword and Book: The
Structure of Human History (1988), Conditions of Liberty:
Civil Society and its Rivals (1994), and the posthumous
Language and Solitude: Wittgenstein, Malinowski and the Habsburg
Dilemma (1998).
John Breuilly is Professor of Nationalism and Ethnicity
at the London School of Economics. He taught at Manchester
University from 1972 until 1995 and at Birmingham University from
1995 until 2004. He has held visiting Professorships at the
universities of Hamburg (1987-8) and Bielefeld (1992-3) and a
Research Fellowship at the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin (2001-2).
Book publications include Austria, Prussia and Germany
1806-1871 (2002), Nationalismus und moderner
Staat. Deutschland und Europa (1999), The Formation
of the First German Nation-State, 1800-1871 (1996), and
Nationalism and the State (2nd.ed., 1993)
Prague, fleeing with his family to England in 1939. He taught at
the LSE from 1949, where he was Professor of Philosophy with
special reference to Sociology from 1962 until 1984, when he became
William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of
Cambridge. At the end of his life, in 1995, he was Director of the
Centre for the Study of Nationalism, part of the Central European
University, in Prague. He wrote many books, among them Words and
Things (1959), Thought and Change (1964), Saints of
the Atlas (1969), Legitimation of Belief (1974), The
Psychoanalytic Movement (1985), Plough, Sword and Book: The
Structure of Human History (1988), Conditions of Liberty:
Civil Society and its Rivals (1994), and the posthumous
Language and Solitude: Wittgenstein, Malinowski and the Habsburg
Dilemma (1998).
John Breuilly is Professor of Nationalism and Ethnicity
at the London School of Economics. He taught at Manchester
University from 1972 until 1995 and at Birmingham University from
1995 until 2004. He has held visiting Professorships at the
universities of Hamburg (1987-8) and Bielefeld (1992-3) and a
Research Fellowship at the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin (2001-2).
Book publications include Austria, Prussia and Germany
1806-1871 (2002), Nationalismus und moderner
Staat. Deutschland und Europa (1999), The Formation
of the First German Nation-State, 1800-1871 (1996), and
Nationalism and the State (2nd.ed., 1993)
