Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book classifies the accounts of nationhood that can be given in terms of the kinds of argument for statehood they support. It also aims to locate these accounts within their intellectual backgrounds and to provide some philosophical assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. The book explores the question as to why nations have a right to statehood by appeal to the principle that the members of a nation have, or might appropriately have, national obligations which a state could enforce. It investigates the view that nations represent natural divisions of humankind. Nationalism is frequently taken to involve the promotion or defense of a national culture. The book discusses culture as a system of communication, such as that exemplified in a national language. It examines the notion of a national history, commonly lumped together with other aspects of national culture.