Gerard Delanty & Patrick O′Mahony 
Nationalism and Social Theory 
Modernity and the Recalcitrance of the Nation

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.

Table of Content

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

About the author

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.