To date, the world can lay claim to little more than 190 sovereign independent entities recognized as nation-states, while by some estimates there may be up to eight hundred more nation-state projects underway and seven to eight thousand potential projects. Why do a few such endeavors come to fruition while most fail? Standard explanations have pointed to national awakenings, nationalist mobilizations, economic efficiency, military prowess, or intervention by the great powers. Where Nation-States Come From provides a compelling alternative account, one that incorporates an in-depth examination of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and their successor states. Philip Roeder argues that almost all successful nation-state projects have been associated with a particular political institution prior to independence: the segment-state, a jurisdiction defined by both human and territorial boundaries. Independence represents an administrative upgrade of a segment-state. Before independence, segmental institutions shape politics on the periphery of an existing sovereign state. Leaders of segment-states are thus better positioned than other proponents of nation-state endeavors to forge locally hegemonic national identities. Before independence, segmental institutions also shape the politics between the periphery and center of existing states. Leaders of segment-states are hence also more able to challenge the status quo and to induce the leaders of the existing state to concede independence. Roeder clarifies the mechanisms that link such institutions to outcomes, and demonstrates that these relationships have prevailed around the world through most of the age of nationalism.

This book investigates the relationship between states and transborder ethnic groups in Eastern Europe. It uses the case of Hungary, which has long-standing ties to the nearly three million ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries, to address why and how kin-states take action on behalf of their ethnic diasporas, and the consequences of that engagement for regional relations and domestic politics. The book argues that it is not ethnic affiliation, but elite political competition within a newly liberalized post-communist party system, together with European Union integration, that both drives increased engagement with ethnic kin abroad, and constrains its most dangerous forms.

Nigeria, despite being the African country of greatest strategic importance to the U.S., remains poorly understood. John Campbell explains why Nigeria is so important to understand in a world of jihadi extremism, corruption, oil conflict, and communal violence. The revised edition provides updates through the recent presidential election.

This study of nationalism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union develops an original account of the interlocking and opposed nationalisms of national minorities, the nationalizing states in which they live, and the external national homelands to which they are linked by external ties.

The book also examines the effects of early legal systems.

This detailed analysis, originally published in 1989 studies the relationship between nation, state and territory. It explores the evolution of nations and the development of the state idea. Consideration is given to the frontier, s the interface between states, the influence of defence requirements, and the dilemmas involved in organizing the internal territorial-administrative arrangements of state territory. Finally the book reviews the geographical problems of empires, in growth and decline, and the impact of international organizations among states. Throughout the book, the themese are given an historical dimension and are supported by numerous maps and examples.

An exceptional set of scholars assess every aspect of the most influential theory of nationalism.