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This article explores four aspects of George L. Mosse's legacy in the field of nationalism. First, it examines his wrestling with the normative complexities of nationalism, reflected in his horror of integralist nationalism (exemplified in fascism) that was in tension with his sympathy with liberal Zionism. Second, it discusses Mosse's innovative anthropological approach to nationalism as a form of culture that aligns him with the ethno-symbolic school of nationalism, associated with Anthony D. Smith. A third contribution was his pioneering studies of the rituals of war commemoration and their changing forms as central to national legitimation. Finally, Mosse has been recognised by leading feminists as an important early investigator of sexuality as it relates to the construction of repressive national codes of respectability. What links these topics is Mosse's tendency to view nationalism as reinforcing the coercive aspects of modern industrial societies. In none of these areas was Mosse a systematic thinker, but the interdisciplinary character of his work and his concern with fundamental problems of identity continues to inspire research into these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports in the issue on the topics including one on Anthony D. Smith, founding editor-in-chief, the other on nationalism and the third on ethno-symbolism.

This article argues that warfare has been marginalised in theories of nationalism but that in conjunction with nationalism is vital for understanding the rise of nation-states, the formation of nations and the nature of the international system. It offers a critique of statist approaches, suggests mechanisms through which warfare may sacralise nations and explores different patterns of nation-state formation as they affect the interstate system. In particular, it emphasises tensions between state and nation-formation as activated by the fortunes of war and the destabilising effects of waves of imperial dissolution, which are accompanied by patterns of re-imperialization. It suggests that it is simplistic both to claim that war has led to a transition from empires to nation-states and that contemporary practices of war-making have led to a postnational era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focused on the London Irish, this article discusses the diasporic dilemmas of Irish Catholics in England who oscillated between four claims to loyalty in the early twentieth century. Liberals and later the labour movement sought to mobilise them for radical political and socialist goals; the Catholic Church to support religious education against secularist threats; a homeland nationalism to advance the prospects of Irish parliamentary autonomy; and a diasporic nationalism to defend their ethnic interests in England. These pressures peaked during the First World War and the Irish War of Independence. The overall effect of this nationalist mobilisation may have been to advance their integration into English social and political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the nation is supposedly a secular modern community, characterised by linear chronological time, I argue that warfare contributes to the creation of the nation as a sacred community of sacrifice in three respects. Firstly, it can act as a mythomoteur in the historical consciousness of populations so that it becomes a reference point or framework for explaining and evaluating events. Secondly, in the modern era it generates a cult of the fallen soldier organised around commemorative rituals and practices that seek to form a moral community. Thirdly, the consequences of warfare shape the long-term social and political goals of national populations, often at the expense of their individual welfare. After elaborating on these aspects, I will investigate the following topics. Firstly, what is the evidence supporting the idea of the nation as a mnemonic community of sacrifice? Secondly, who generates such 'memories', why and what purposes do they serve? Finally, what sustains the power of such 'memories' over time, in an increasingly sceptical and supposedly postmodern age? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the written version of the debate concerning the book "The Making of English National Identity," by Krishan Kumar. The debate was introduced and chaired by John Hutchinson and the three reviews of the book were also presented. The author made a reply and the panel of speakers responded to question and comments raised by the audience of the debate.

The article presents an introduction to the January 2004 issue of the journal "Nations and Nationalism," which discusses social scientist Anthony D. Smith's about of nations and nationalism. It asseses various issues concerning Smith's ethno-symbolic approach. Ethnosymbolism stands in opposition to the modernist approach underpinning constructivist and instrumentalist theories of nations and nationalism. According to Smith basic themes derived from the claims made by ethno-symbolism are la longue durée, national past, present and future, ethnic basis of nations, longevity of nationalism and ethno-history.

Nationalism is a secular modern ideology that has been accompanied by revolutions and it has legitimised the rise to power of new social classes. For this reason many theorists have regarded nationalists as inventors of tradition and their claims to continuities with the past as either self-delusion or a form of deceit. Yet in many cases premodern ethnic identities have powerfully shaped the programmes and policies of many nation-states. How can nationalism be the expressions of ethnic continuity and also of revolutionary change? I will argue that nationalism is a novel form of ethnicity, shaped by the polycentric vision of romanticism and by the unprecedented and unpredictable challenges of the modern world that require innovation Nationalists are able to justify innovation because of the ‘layered’ nature of the ethnic past, and they are able to overcome established ethnic identities by generating at times of crises novel myths based on romantic acts of sacrifice by heroic elites that legitimise new national projects. But these new elite-driven national mythologies overlie rather than obliterate older ethnic traditions. These latter can come to life in the process of nation-building, redirecting it from its original secular goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the place of archaeology in the second wave of Irish cultural nationalism, and how archaeological findings were appropriated by rival ethno-religious communities in Ireland. In particular, it focuses on George Petrie, who was the founder of ‘scientific’ archaeology and was also one of the leading figures in the nineteenth-century Celtic revival that sought a moral regeneration of the Irish nation In Ireland, as elsewhere, archaeology was important in reconstructing an early history of the nation where few written records existed and in making this visible through material artefacts. However, archaeology was only significant as part of a wider cultural revival that presented artefacts and sites as national symbols to an island undergoing rapid social change. This article will explore the relationship between archaeology and this national revival, and how the material objects recovered by archaeologists extended and transformed the existing repertoires of how the nation was imagined and felt. It will assess the different reception of these images in the rival Catholic and Protestant communities. Finally, it will comment on the capacity of a medieval ‘Celtic’ repertoire to provide the basis of a dynamic modern Irish national culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a view of nations as dynamic, long term historical collectivities that structure the forms of modernity. It rejects dominant modernist models of nation-formation because they tend to conflate nation with nation-state, to regard nations as homogeneous societies, and to depict nation-formation in linear terms as an outgrowth of modernization. Nation-formation in the modern world has an episodic character. By examining the ethnic character of modern nations in Ia ion gue durée, we can identify more convincing recurring causes of national revivals, the role of persisting cultural differences within nations, and the fluctuating salience of national identities with respect to other social allegiances. This analysis throws light on the vexed questions of relationships between national identity and globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews standard and recent interpretations of cultural nationalism. It rejects "invention of tradition" perspectives, and assumptions that it is a surrogate statist movement, concerned with cultural homogeneity, that it is archaising in character, and that it is a transient movement, incompatible with full modernisation. It argues cultural nationalism seeks to "rediscover" an historically-rooted way of life; its concern is communitarian; that cultural nationalists act primarily as moral and social innovators; and that it is a recurring movement, embedded in the modern world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the distinctive role of cultural nationalists in nation building. The rise of the modern nations since the eighteenth century in many contexts has been preceded and accompanied by major historical, artistic and linguistic revivals, which have provided an umbrella for significant social and political movements. The article argues that cultural nationalism deserves attention as a separate movement, distinct from political nationalism, with its own aims and politics. Although it is backward looking, it is not regressive, rather it evokes a golden age as a critique of the present, with the hope of propelling the community to ever-higher stages of development. Indeed, cultural nationalists act as moral innovators and are a recurring force, regularly crystallizing at times of crisis generated by the modernization process with the aim of providing alternative models of progress. A noted social thinker Elie Kedourie, has argued for an essentially political definition of nationalism, as a doctrine formulated by new secular intellectuals.

An introduction is presented that discusses issue articles on topics including the history of the journal, the ideas of scholar Ernest Gellner about nationalism, and the relationship between nationalism and populism.

The article introduces various topics covered in the issue including different aspects of nationalism, hate speech and relations, and politics of architectural preservation.

The editors celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the journal and discuss plans for 2015 including a round table about nationalism in various parts of the world, the addition of Rajesh Venugopal to the editorial team, and nationality articles to be published in the April 2015 issue.