ABSTRACT
The study of nationalism and nationalist movements has often tended to confound three ideas, those of the nation, the ethnic group and the state. Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland provide three nationalist movements which are at once old and new. Minority nationalisms need to build new institutions. Continental integration and minority nationalism are seen as essentially complementary processes, eroding the old states and allowing for the emergence of new political forms. This modernized nationalism represents, not a lapse into tribalism or identity politics, but a search for collective identity and a capacity for collective action in a complex world. Opponents of minority nationalism are affronted by the practice of Quebecois, Catalans and Scots of playing in different political arenas at the same time, pressing for autonomy at home while retaining a presence in state politics and venturing into the international arena.
