Constructing Nationalities in East Central Europe

by Pieter M. Judson (Editor), Juson

The hundred years between the revolutions of 1848 and the population transfers of the mid-twentieth century saw the nationalization of culturally complex societies in East Central Europe. This fact has variously been explained in terms of modernization, state building and nation-building theories, each of which treats the process of nationalization as something inexorable, a necessary component of modernity. Although more recently social scientists gesture to the contingencies that may shape these larger developments, this structural approach makes scholars far less attentive to the “hard work” (ideological, political, social) undertaken by individuals and groups at every level of society who tried themselves to build “national” societies. The essays in this volume make us aware of how complex, multi-dimensional and often contradictory this nationalization process in East Central Europe actually was. The authors document attempts and failures by nationalist politicians, organizations, activists and regimes from 1848 through 1948 to give East-Central Europeans a strong sense of national self-identification. They remind us that only the use of dictatorial powers in the 20th century could actually transform the fantasy of nationalization into a reality, albeit a brutal one.

Genres: History, Politics

316 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 2004

About the author

Pieter M. Judson (born 1956, Utrecht) is professor of history. He has taught history at Swarthmore College, and is currently a professor of 19th and 20th century history at the European University Institute in Florence.

His research interests include modern European History, nationalist conflicts, revolutionary and counter revolutionary social movements, and the history of sexuality