Nationalism and Social Theory: Modernity and the Recalcitrance of the Nation / Edition 1

by Gerard Delanty, Patrick O'Mahony

Overview

Why has nationalism proved so durable? What are the roots of its appeal? This sharp and accessible book slices through the myths surrounding nationalism and provides an important new perspective on this perennial subject.

The book argues that: nationalism is persistent, not merely because of its specific ideological appeal, but because it expresses some of the major conflicts in modernity; nationalism reflects and reinforces four key trends in western social development: state formation, democratization, capitalism and the rationalization of culture; the forms of nationalism can be organized into a comprehensive typology which is outlined in the course of this study; post-nationalism and cosmopolitanism are significant innovations in the debate about nation-states and nationalism; and that the new radical nationalisms have become powerful new movements in the global age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761954514
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/16/2002
Series:	BSA New Horizons in Sociology
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

Gerard Delanty is Reader in Sociology at the University of Liverpool

Dr. O'Mahony received his doctorate from the National University of Ireland in 1991 and spent the next seven years as Director of the Centre for European Social Research before taking up a position as lecturer in Sociology at UCC in 2000. He theoretical interests cover a wide span but are currently focused on questions of public participation and the public sphere. He has wide-ranging methodological expertise in a variety of research approaches and techniques. He has conducted and coordinated wide-ranging research, primarily focused on questions of environment, the societal implications of new technology and identity and ideology in Ireland and internationally. He is currently working on a book on the Public Sphere of Biotechnology in Britain and Ireland and the UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Modernity, Nationalism and Social Theory
A General Outline
Modernity and Nationalism
Transformation and Integration
Nationalism and Structure
Nationalism and Culture
Nationalism, Agency and Social Change
Towards a Typology of Forms of Nationalism
The New Radical Nationalisms
Globalization, Xenophobia and Cultural Violence
Debating the Limits of Nationalism
Possibilities for Postnationalism

Editorial Reviews

Delanty and O'Mahony follow other analysts in theorizing nationalism as central to modernity rather than an aberrant, inexplicable force, but do not see national identity as the fundamental collective identity of modern society. They situate nationalism in the context of the social transformations of modernity, address it from a comparative perspective, critically synthesize the existing literature, and relate it to recent debates about cosmopolitanism. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

‘An outstanding contribution to the sociology of nationalism and modernity, Delanty and O’Mahony have developed a major sociological perspective on the kaleidoscopic world of nationalism, patriotism, xenophobia and fundamentalism.' - Bryan S. Turner University of Cambridge

From the Publisher