Nationalism has become so integral a part of life in Europe today that it is virtually impossible not to identify oneself with a nation-state, and yet nationalism is historically a modern phenomenon. This reader helps the student to gain an understanding of this important subject by offering: a substantial and wide-ranging introduction key texts, including John Stuart Mill and Otto Bauer a selection of texts from 1861 to the present which emphasize how the understanding of nationalism has changed over time a comparative European analysis pieces previously not published in English a number of lengthy texts to offer students the possibility of studying in depth. As well as providing the central building blocks for informed theoretical discussion, Stuart Woolf also tackles controversial issues such as the difference between the development of nationalism in western and central-eastern Europe and the relationship between nation-state and national identity.