Nationalism Themes, Theories, and Controversies

‘This is an excellent critical introduction to nationalism studies. Lloyd Cox has written a wide ranging and insightful, yet highly accessible and concise, book that will appeal to students and scholars interested in the classical and contemporary theories of nations and nationalism. The book successfully brings together theoretical debates and empirical research while illustrating its key points with the wealth of examples from various historical periods and from different parts of the world.’

— Siniša Malešević, Professor of Sociology, University College, Dublin

Nationalism affects everyone’s life in a myriad of ways; it tells us who we are and sets the “affective atmosphere” in which we live. Lloyd Cox's superb book brings to light nationalism's connection(s) to our emotions and our lived experience as well as its wide-ranging impact on politics.

— Aleksandar Pavković, Associate Professor of Politics and InternationalRelations, Macquarie University, Sydney

This book provides a concise, critical analysis of the key themes, theories, and controversies in nationalism studies. It offers an historically informed and sophisticated overview of classical and contemporary approaches to nationalism, as well as setting out an agenda for future research on nationalism and the emotions. In so doing, the book illuminates nationalism’s contemporary power and resilience, as manifested in the growth of far-right nationalist populism in Europe, the white ethno-nationalism of Trump in the United States, the resurgence of great power nationalism and rivalry in Asia, and the resilience of national secessionist movements in diverse parts of the planet. The widespread nationalistic responses to the coronavirus pandemic provide further confirmation of the continuing power of nationalism. All of these developments are discussed in the book, which will be an invaluable resource for nationalism scholars and students in Sociology, Politics and History.

Lloyd Cox is a Lecturer in the Department of History, Politics and International Relations at Macquarie University in Sydney, teaching mainly in the areas of nationalism studies and Australian and American politics. His latest research focuses on emotions and politics, with a particular focus on inter-state relations.