Andreas Wimmer Book order

"A new and comprehensive look at the reasons behind successful or failed nation building Nation Building presents bold new answers to an age-old question. Why is national integration achieved in some diverse countries, while others are destabilized by political inequality between ethnic groups, contentious politics, or even separatism and ethnic war? Traversing centuries and continents from early nineteenth-century Europe and Asia to Africa from the turn of the twenty-first century to today, Andreas Wimmer delves into the slow-moving forces that encourage political alliances to stretch across ethnic divides and build national unity. Using datasets that cover the entire world and three pairs of case studies, Wimmer's theory of nation building focuses on slow-moving, generational processes: the spread of civil society organizations, linguistic assimilation, and the states' capacity to provide public goods

Introducing a new comparative theory of ethnicity, Andreas Wimmer shows why ethnicity matters in certain societies and contexts but not in others, and why it is sometimes associated with inequality and exclusion, with political and public debate, with closely-held identities, while in other cases ethnicity does not structure the allocation of resources, invites little political passion, and represent secondary aspects of individual identity.

A new perspective on how the nation-state emerged and subsequently proliferated across the globe, accompanied by a wave of wars.

The book explores the relationship between nationalist exclusion and ethnic conflict within the context of fragmented modern nation-states. It delves into how these societal divisions contribute to tensions and challenges, offering insights into the complexities of identity and belonging in contemporary society. Through its analysis, the work sheds light on the underlying dynamics that fuel nationalism and its impact on social cohesion.