The Social Origins of Nationalist Movements
The Contemporary West European Experience
- John Coakley - University College Dublin, Ireland
It presents case studies of particular regions or minorities within the context of a larger state including the Jura, Sardinia, Brittany, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In contrast, the Nordic region study illustrates a situation where the prerequisites of nationalist agitation are present, but where vigorous nationalist movements have been absent.
| A Review |
| A Theoretical Perspective |
| Nationalism and Socialism in Theory and Practice |
| The Case of the Nordic Area |
| The Jura Question |
| The Case of Sardinia |
| The Breton Case |
| The Case of Scotland |
| The Case of Northern Ireland |
| Nationalist Movements and Society in Contemporary Western Europe |
`Coakley has assembled in this book a good sample of papers dealing with very different cases, through which it is also possible to have a look in as different nations as Sardinia and Scotland. These different case studies are approached in different ways... The most interesting aspect of this book lays in the combination of theory with empirical research of case-studies, which allows the editor to obtain suggesting conclusions... the eclecticism in combining cases and especially different perspectives of the study of nationalist movements may be considered a great virtue of this book, which by doing so overcomes the traditional and unfortunate isolation between historical and sociological perspectives. In short, Coakley's volume seems to be a good combination of sociological explanations amd theories of nationalism with the analysis of the social basis and politics of the national movements through their evolution over time and until nowadays. Here it is possible to place thespecific and promising contribution (of the book) to the study of nationalism as a global phenomenon' - Europa Ethnica
`the book does provide a functional framework within which to analyse European nationalism, and offers insights into both its nature and the responses to it.' - Tribune
`would be good reading for undergraduate classes in international ethnic relations of comparative nationalism. A theoretically provocative treatment of nationalist `non-movements' in Scandinavia stands out. Here the authors try to explain the absence of significant ethnic mobilizations despite the presence of several small minority nationalities in each country. They present a useful taconomy of minorities in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland' - Journal of Baltic Studies