The Endurance of Nationalism

By Aviel Roshwald

Book Overview

Aviel Roshwald directly challenges prevalent scholarly orthodoxies about the exclusively modern character of nationalism. He argues that nationalism's enduring power to shape the world we live in arises directly out of its position at the heart of inescapable social and political paradoxes that are not only fundamental to the modern experience, but many of whose roots can be traced back into ancient history. Modern nationalisms, the author contends, cannot be fully understood without first examining their ancient counterparts and archetypes. Deploying a broad array of historical and contemporary case studies (ranging from ancient Jewish nationalism to the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the nationalist politics of ancient Greece to the contested memory of the Alamo, and from the Yugoslav wars to Northern Ireland's Orange Parades) the author argues that a responsible politics of nationalism depends upon a forthright acknowledgement of the deep-seated and intrinsically insoluble dilemmas that inhere in it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521603641
• ISBN13: 9780521603645
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 362 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

an eye-opening book

This is a surprising book in a number of ways. For one, it challenges popular views of the history of nationalism. Aviel Roshwald convincingly argues that nationalism is not just a modern phenomenon but has existed in its familiar form since ancient times. He provides plenty of evidence to support his argument, relying on sources as disparate as the Jewish Bible and Thucydides. His account of American nationalism helps shed light on recent U.S. foreign policy in a way no other book I can think of has done. His section on Texas and the Alamo is brilliantly inventive as it brings together analysis of cultural artifacts and localized forms of nationalism. It's rare to find a scholarly book that is serious, witty, and readable all at the same time, but in this respect "The Endurance of Nationalism" is unrivaled.