ABSTRACT

Among the recurring themes in Walker Connor’s writings are the insistence on the continuing importance of nationalism – even in contexts in which many had come to believe it of largely historical interest – and the concern for terminological accuracy, the repudiation of Humpty-Dumpty usage. The first of these is no longer such a contentious matter; contemporary work on nationalism now forms a respectable and animated part of several academic disciplines. As far as the second theme goes, questions of verbal accuracy and precision vex us still. Indeed, Connor found it necessary to begin his Ethnonationalism: The Quest for Understanding (1994) with the following words: ‘… slipshod use of the key terms, nation and nationalism, is more the rule than the exception, even in works purportedly dealing with nationalism’ (p. xi).