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In this thought-provoking new book, Anthony Smith analyses key debates between historians and social scientists on the role of nations and nationalism in history.In a wide-ranging analysis of the work of historians, sociologists, political scientists and others, he argues that there are three key issues which have shaped debates in this field: first, the nature and origin of nations and nationalism; second, the antiquity or modernity of nations and nationalism; and third, the role of nations and nationalism in historical, and especially recent, social change.Anthony Smith provides an incisive critique of the debate between modernists, perennialists and primordialists over the origins, development and contemporary significance of nations and nationalism. Drawing on a wide range of examples from antiquity and the medieval epoch, as well as the modern world, he develops a distinctive ethnosymbolic account of nations and nationalism.This important book by one of the world's leading authorities on nationalism and ethnicity will be of particular interest to students and scholars in history, sociology and politics. Anthony D. Smithis Professor of Ethnicity and Nationalism at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

What role did visual artists play in the emergence and spread of nationalism and a sense of national identity? Focusing on late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century Britain and France, this original study in the historical sociology of nations and nationalism analyses the contributions of artists in these and other West European countries to the creation of memorable images of the abstract concept of the nation. By employing different modes of depiction for conveying moral lessons, evoking the atmosphere of the homeland, and commemorating the fallen in battle, David, Ingres, Turner, Constable, and Friedrich, as well as a host of lesser artists, were able to make the national idea appear palpable and accessible, and the abstract concept of the nation seem 'authentic' and 'real'. After a brief description of the main themes of the visual record of Dutch nation-building in the seventeenth century, Anthony D. Smith presents an original comparative analysis of the rise of 'national art' in eighteenth-century Britain and France

A work on the concept of social change that puts forward the paradigm of historical change as an alternative to the functionalist theory of evolutionary change. It shows that, in attempting to provide a theory of social change, functionalism reveals itself as a species of 'frozen' evolutionism

With the resurgence of ethnic nationalism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the need to bring the study of ethnicity and nationalism more closely together has become even plainer. The views expressed here represent several of the main lines of enquiry in the current study of ethnicity and nationalism. Contents: Anthony D. Smith, 'Ethnicity and Nationalism.' James Mayall and Mark Simpson, 'Ethnicity is not Enough: Reflections on Protracted Secessionism in the Third World.' Sammy Smooha and Theodor Hanf, 'The Diverse Modes of Conflict Regulation in Deeply Divided Societies.' Walker Connor, 'The Nation and its Myth.' Anthony D. Smith, Nationalism and the Historians.' Sylvia Walby, 'Women and Nation.' John Hutchinson, 'Moral Innovators and the Politics of Regeneration: the Distinctive Role of Cultural Nationalists in Nation Building.' Donald L. Horowitz, 'Irredentas and Secessions: Adjacent Phenomena, Neglected Connections.'