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In the wake of the revival of European nationalism in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Romano's essay explores the origin of the idea of the modern nation state between 1789 and 1848 when the citizen and the plebiscite replaced the subject as the legitimizing mechanism for national and multinational associations, and its subsequent evolution. He then traces its development to its zenith in 1919, its death in 1945, and its resurrection in 1989. Viewed through the political necessities of the nation state, the tumultuous events of the twentieth century and the recent rekindling of sentiments at the heart of those events take on a fresh perspective.
List of contents
Preface
Chapter 1. Nations and Arms: From the Revolution to the Restoration
Chapter 2. The Concert of Nations and the Border Empires
Chapter 3. Two Revolutions: 1830 and 1848
Chapter 4. The Birth of States Founded on Plebiscites: France, Italy, Germany
Chapter 5. The Age of Bismarck: The Balance of Power and the Nationalization of Modern States
Chapter 6. Europe and Its Colonies
Chapter 7. Europe Between Two Centuries: The Frustrated Ambitions of the Nation-States
Chapter 8. The Eve of the First World War: Crises on Europe’s Borders
Chapter 9. The Logic of War: From Versailles to Hitler
Chapter 10. The Inevitable War: From Hitler’s Europe to the Europe of the “Democracies”
Chapter 11. The Repression of Nationalism and the Return to Empire
Chapter 12. The Return to Versailles: The Small Fatherlands and the Dissolution of the Soviet Empire
Epilogue
Select Bibliography
Index of Names
About the author
Historian, diplomat, and journalist, Sergio Romano was Director of Italian Cultural Relations, Ambassador to NATO, and Ambassador to the Soviet Union. He retired from the diplomatic service in 1989 and became a regular columnist for La Stampa. He is the author of two biographies of major political figures, Giolitti and Gentile, as well as two studies of Russian political life. Romano has been visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard University.
Summary
In the wake of the revival of European nationalism in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Romano's essay explores the origin of the idea of the modern nation state between 1789 and 1848 when the citizen and the plebiscite replaced the subject as the legitimizing mechanism for national and multinational associations.
