Nationalism provides a comprehensive exploration of nationalist identity, ideology, and practice which centers the geographic underpinnings of the phenomenon. It unpacks the fundamental principles and the many variations of this global phenomenon, as it examines nationalism through a spatial lens.

Nationalism is the dominant political force in the modern world and no other global ideology is so strongly tied to concepts like territory, homeland, frontiers, and boundaries. The authors delve into how nationalism is fundamentally related to territory and place, why mapping is critical to the nationalist endeavors, the role of performance and personification, ethnonationalism, multinationalism, nationalist movements, and how nationalism is evidenced and experienced in cities and towns throughout the world. These provide a solid summary of what makes nationalism so compelling, so uniting, and so dangerous. Nationalism provides a fresh and compelling perspective on a complicated and often controversial subject.

Written in an accessible and attractive style, the book will be especially useful for classes in Geography, Global Studies, International Relations, Political Science, Sociology, History, and Anthropology. It provides information and conceptual insights to scholars interested in a concise and sophisticated synthesis of contemporary nationalism. For casual readers interested in the phenomenon of nationalism, this book provides clear explanations and compelling examples.

About the Author

David H. Kaplan is a Professor of Geography at Kent State University. He has written some 70 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, and has also published Segregation in Cities, Nested Identities, Boundaries and Place, Human Geography, Urban Geography, Landscapes of the Ethnic Economy, Perthes World Atlas, the four-volume Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview, Navigating Ethnicity, and Scaling Identities. Dr. Kaplan's research interests include nationalism, borderlands, ethnic and racial segregation, urban and regional development, housing finance, and sustainable transportation. Dr. Kaplan has supervised 55 graduate students and teaches courses on many different aspects of human geography. He is also the past President of the American Association of Geographers. He edits the Geographical Review, the flagship journal of the American Geographical Society, as well as National Identities.

Kathryn Hannum is an Assistant Professor of Geography at Michigan Tech University. Her research interests include national identity, migration and diaspora, sociolinguistics, memorial landscapes, and geographies of sport. She teaches a myriad of courses and leads study-away programs that connect lived experiences to complex Geographic concepts, such as nationalism, migration, and tourism. Dr. Hannum has written several book chapters, as well as articles published in The Professional Geographer, GeoHumanities, and Journal of Cultural Geography, among others.

Reviews

"Nationalism is now often said to be 'back' after a period of apparent eclipse. As this book shows in detail, nationalism is in fact one of the major features of modernity. But it can only be understood if it is examined in its own terms as a type of politics based in defending and promoting territories whose definition is fraught and fragile. Geography is thus central to its meaning."

John Agnew, UCLA, USA.

"Nationalism studies cannot do without a critical geographic perspective. Kaplan and Hannum offer precisely that in their broad but rich sweep through the geographies of nationalism."

Natalie Koch, Syracuse University, USA.

"In this long overdue geographically informed introduction to nationalism, Kaplan and Hannum put geographical concepts like territory, place, landscape, scale, borders and maps to work to explore the many expressions of the most geographical and pervasive of all ideologies. With many examples from all over the world they illustrate the spatial dimensions of nationalist claims and the political arrangements to accommodate them."

Virginie Mamadouh, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

"Surveying the vast literatures and capacious themes associated with nationalism, Kaplan and Hannum's book is an enlightening read. It deserves a place on the bookshelves and bibliographies of scholars across disciplines. Nationalism is philosophically well-grounded and rich with historical context. Its geographical framing engenders novel insights into nationalism's past, present, and future. Encyclopedic in coverage, this book is a launch-point for students, as well as a textured synthesis for seasoned scholars interested in socio-political identity."

Alexander C. Diener, University of Kansas, USA.

Book Information
ISBN 9781138350618
Author David H. Kaplan
Format Paperback
Page Count 204
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 410g