Comprehensively revised and substantially extended for the second edition, James Kellas' book provides a review and assessment of the main theoretical approaches to the study of nationalism and considers a wide range of examples from around the world of contemporary nationalist movements and of the strategies of pluralism and accommodation which have been developed to contain them.

A study which attempts to provide an integrated theory of the politics of nationalism and ethnicity. The author does this by focusing on the different aspects of nationalism to see how they connect with one another and what are the "necessary" and "sufficient" conditions for nationalist politics.

In this comprehensively revised and updated new edition, James Kellas reviews and assesses the main theoretical approaches to the study of nationalism that have been developed within a wide range of disciplines. He introduces a range of international case studies to explain the power of nationalism and ethnicity in politics, to identify the circumstances in which they flourish, and to evaluate various strategies of accommodation which have been developed to contain ethnic conflict.

This accessible introduction to comparative politics offers a fresh, state-centered perspective on the fundamentals of political science.

According to most social scientists, the advent of a global media village and the rise of liberal democratic government would diminish ethnic and national identity as a source of political action. Yet the contemporary world is in the midst of an explosion of identity politics and often violent ethnonationalism. This volume examines cases ranging from the well-publicized ethnonationalism of Bosnia and post-Apartheid South Africa to ethnic conflicts in Belgium and Sri Lanka. Distinguished international scholars including John Comaroff, Stanley J. Tambiah, and Ernesto Laclau argue that continued acceptance of imposed ethnic terms as the most appropriate vehicle for collective self-identification and social action legitimizes the conditions of inequality that give rise to them in the first place. This ambitious attempt to explain the inadequacies of current approaches to power and ethnicity forges more realistic alternatives to the volatile realities of social difference.

This exciting new book is the first to offer a truly comprehensive account of the vibrant topic of nationalism. Packed with a series of rich, illustrative examples, the book examines this powerful and remarkable political force by exploring: - Definitions of nationalism - Language and nationalism - Religion and Nationalism - Nationalist history - The social roots of ideologies and the significance of race, gender and class - Nationalist movements, from dominant majorities to peripheral minorities socio-economic and sociological perspectives - State responses to nationalism Supported by a number of helpful illustrations, tables and diagrams, the text is both engaging and highly informative. Nationalism, Ethnicity and the State: Making and Breaking Nations will prove an insightful read for both undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in the area of Politics and International Relations.