The Nationalist Egg and the State-centric Chicken?

Abstract

The book by Siniša Malešević, Grounded Nationalisms: A Sociological Analysis, is useful for better understanding the social conditions in which nationalism has come into being. The volume is based on a rich overview of literature and is accompanied by several case-studies (i.e. Ireland and the Balkans). The analysis stresses the utility of a long-run processual approach in order to contextualize the nationalist grip in modern society. By tracing changes in states’ organizational capacity, ideological penetration and networks of micro-solidarity, Malešević’s demonstrates how and why nationalism has become deeply “grounded’’ in the everyday life of modern human beings. Following Malešević (2019), this critical note seeks to juxtapose the former’s thesis with two other recently published books: Why Nationalism (Tamir, 2019) and Sovranità (Galli, 2019) in order to shed light upon the somewhat ambiguous triad nation-state-sovereignty as addressed by these three different authors. The aim is to elucidate “dark spots” and bridge over gaps regarding the socio-political interpretation of the “nation’’ as an omnipresent societal category.