Overview

Full Product Details

9780691177380

Table of Contents

Reviews

In this fascinating account of state- and nation-building across time and space, Wimmer does a great job in convincing readers of the explanatory value of his theory. ---Sean Mueller, Regional and Federal Studies Wimmer stands among the most solid and convincing of macrocomparative researchers, and he is as close to the ideal of an impartial social scientist as one can find. His theories of nation building are a revelation. --Randall Collins, University of Pennsylvania This fluent and powerful book demonstrates at the deepest level that early state formation rests on ethnic and linguistic homogenization--and this, together with the presence of civil society alliances that crosscut a territory, allows for successful nation building. Wimmer is a great sociologist at the top of his profession, producing a work of immense sophistication that exhibits all his gifts. --John A. Hall, McGill University Nation Building examines a specific puzzle concerning ethnic membership during the making of nationhood. Why, in some countries, do ethno-political hierarchies in play during the making of nationhood wind up having long lives, while in other countries the process of nation building becomes an occasion for dissolving such differences? Wimmer brings great depth to his analysis and makes this book a major contribution to the subject. --Saskia Sassen, author of Expulsions Nation Building is an exemplary piece of social science research. With diverse empirical methods, both quantitative and qualitative, Wimmer mounts an immensely ambitious effort to unscramble the complex web of determinants behind nationhood. He emphasizes long-term, slower-moving processes, but is sensitive to their implications for agency, leadership, and policy. A central insight that emerges is that national identity is the product not of ethnic homogeneity but of the inclusive provision of public goods. --Dani Rodrik, Harvard University Rich in historical detail, Nation Building explains--through theory, controlled comparison, and statistical tests--how states prosper and fail. With this book, Wimmer's impressive corpus merits inclusion in the canon of great works in historical sociology. --David D. Laitin, Stanford University

"""Winner of the Stein Rokkan Prize, European Consortium for Political Research"" ""Co-Winner of the Barrington Moore Book Award, Comparative-Historical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association"" ""In this fascinating account of state- and nation-building across time and space, Wimmer does a great job in convincing readers of the explanatory value of his theory.""---Sean Mueller, Regional and Federal Studies ""This is a book of profound and far-reaching significance for those wishing to understand how nations are built.—John Torpey, Sociological Forum"""

Wimmer stands among the most solid and convincing of macrocomparative researchers, and he is as close to the ideal of an impartial social scientist as one can find. His theories of nation building are a revelation. -Randall Collins, University of Pennsylvania This fluent and powerful book demonstrates at the deepest level that early state formation rests on ethnic and linguistic homogenization-and this, together with the presence of civil society alliances that crosscut a territory, allows for successful nation building. Wimmer is a great sociologist at the top of his profession, producing a work of immense sophistication that exhibits all his gifts. -John A. Hall, McGill University Nation Building examines a specific puzzle concerning ethnic membership during the making of nationhood. Why, in some countries, do ethno-political hierarchies in play during the making of nationhood wind up having long lives, while in other countries the process of nation building becomes an occasion for dissolving such differences? Wimmer brings great depth to his analysis and makes this book a major contribution to the subject. -Saskia Sassen, author of Expulsions Nation Building is an exemplary piece of social science research. With diverse empirical methods, both quantitative and qualitative, Wimmer mounts an immensely ambitious effort to unscramble the complex web of determinants behind nationhood. He emphasizes long-term, slower-moving processes, but is sensitive to their implications for agency, leadership, and policy. A central insight that emerges is that national identity is the product not of ethnic homogeneity but of the inclusive provision of public goods. -Dani Rodrik, Harvard University Rich in historical detail, Nation Building explains-through theory, controlled comparison, and statistical tests-how states prosper and fail. With this book, Wimmer's impressive corpus merits inclusion in the canon of great works in historical sociology. -David D. Laitin, Stanford University

Author Information

Andreas Wimmer is the Lieber Professor of Sociology and Political Philosophy at Columbia University. His books include Waves of War and Ethnic Boundary Making.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available