Nations Matter

Craig Calhoun, one of the most respected social scientists in the world, re-examines nationalism in light of post-1989 enthusiasm for globalization and the new anxieties of the twenty-first century. Nations Matter argues that pursuing a purely postnational politics is premature at best and possibly dangerous. Calhoun argues that, rather than wishing nationalism away, it is important to transform it. One key is to distinguish the ideology of nationalism as fixed and inherited identity from the development of public projects that continually remake the terms of national integration. Standard concepts like 'civic' vs. 'ethnic' nationalism can get in the way unless they are critically re-examined a " as an important chapter in this book does. This book is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of sociology, history, political theory and all subjects concerned with nationalism, globalization, and cosmopolitanism.

1. Is It Time to Be Postnational? 2. Nationalism Matters 3. Nationalism and Ethnicity 4. Nationalism and Civil Society: Democracy, diversity, and self-determination 5. Nationalism, Political Community, and the Representation of Society: Or, why feeling at home is not a substitute for public space 6. Inventing the Opposition of Ethnic and Civic Nationalism: Hans Kohn and The Idea of Nationalism 7. Nationalism and the Cultures of Democracy. Conclusion