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The author reflects on the 50th anniversary of the periodical "Nationalities Papers" in 2022. The anniversary will be celebrated by the Association for the Study of Nationalities at the Annual World Convention. He cites the commitment of the periodical to publish research related to contemporary debates and social scientific fields. He expresses his gratitude to Katrina Swartz for her contribution to the periodical as content manager and welcomes Kayla Riddleberger as her successor.

Scholars of nation-building and secession tend to prioritize elite or broader nationalist activism when explaining the proliferation of nation-states. Yet, recent historical research reveals a major finding: the influence of great powers tended to eclipse nationalist mobilization for new states in Latin America, the Balkans, Anatolia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on recent trends in historical research largely unknown in other fields, this article examines context, timing, and event sequencing to provide a new approach to multi-case research on nation-state proliferation. Major power recognition of new states in the Balkans also emerges as transformational for the post-World War I replacement of dynastic empires with nation-states in Europe. These findings suggest a shift of focus to the interplay of nationalist activism and great power policy for explaining the spread of nation-states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]