Peter Thaler, The Ambivalence of Identity: The Austrian Experience of Nation-Building in a Modern Society, Central European Studies, edited by Charles W. Ingrao (West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2001)

Peter Thaler begins by summarizing several theories of modern nationalism and concludes that national particularities make it difficult to apply any single theory with precision. Thaler's adoption of the instrumentalist idea is developed, which collectively form the core of the work. He explains Catalyst or Precondition: The Socioeconomic Environment of Austrian Nation-Building", Thaler argues that the social and economic success of the Second Republic was a key "precondition for the development of an Austrian national consciousness". Thaler discusses the intellectual foundations and instruments of Austrian nation-building. He points out those theories of nationalism are more complex with non-Western countries. Thaler's adoption of the instrumentalist theory is further born out in his discussions of judicial and educational instruments of nation-building. The transformation of Austrian identity is chronicled, "Measuring Identity", where Thaler summarizes several important surveys about Austrian identity from the immediate postwar period through the 1990s.