ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book attempts to engage with some major debates on nation building and identity construction. It suggests that nation building is an ongoing practice in both states 'in construction' and stable ones. The book describes that the focus on the everyday proves valuable when formal identity proposed by the state and top political actors is contested in various social or cultural groups. It proposes the existence of a spectrum of formal and informal actors, markers and factors that frame people's understanding of the nation and inclusion-exclusion mechanisms which are crucial for the definition of national community; political, popular and quotidian actors matter. The book highlights the study of practice over teleological process with an end goal, going beyond the functionalist assumption that once saw national identity as stable and uncritically reproduced by the people.
