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Blood and Sacrifice: Politics Versus Culture in the Construction of Nationalism

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Nationalisms Old and New

Part of the book series: Explorations in Sociology ((EIS))

Abstract

From being a topic which existed on the margins of a number of disciplines and which seemed to be of declining importance in the contemporary world, nationalism is now at the centre of a number of debates and the literature on the subject continues to grow at an alarming rate. The collapse of state socialism in Eastern Europe and the furious ethnic and nationalist conflicts unleashed in and among the post-communist states is one reason for this resurgence of interest in nationalism. Academic arguments rage on the future direction of nationalism and on the explanation of its genesis and continuing appeal.1 Our concern, in this chapter, is to advance the understanding of these contemporary variants of nationalist conflicts and movements through a critical examination of some of the ideas of politics and culture which have been used in the explanation of nationalism.

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Authors
  1. Philip Spencer
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  2. Howard Wollman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Reading, UK

    Kevin J. Brehony (Senior Lecturer in Education) & Naz Rassool (Lecturer in Education) (Senior Lecturer in Education) &  (Lecturer in Education)

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© 1999 British Sociological Association

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Spencer, P., Wollman, H. (1999). Blood and Sacrifice: Politics Versus Culture in the Construction of Nationalism. In: Brehony, K.J., Rassool, N. (eds) Nationalisms Old and New. Explorations in Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27627-1_6

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