ABSTRACT
The twin phenomena of nations and nationalism have shapedthe world we know today and yet they have consistently confounded attempts at systematic analysis. Myriad scraps of proof have been collated and a wide range of different explanatory theories (often contradictory) have been advanced, in attempts to pin down these elusive concepts. Often, definitive answers have seemed within reach, only to fade from view with the arrival of fresh evidence or the advent of newer, seemingly more sophisticated, theories. This book is about that search for understanding. It considers the historiography of theories of nationalism, not in an effort solely to identify the most convincing theory so far advanced (although such evaluation will take place), but with the aim of understanding why the almost ubiquitous phenomena of nations and nationalism have proved so intangible, why so many conflicting theories have been advanced and why the debate continues to this day.
