Partha Chatterjee

sees Nationalism as a Problem in the History of Political Ideas, a

critique, from a postcolonial standpoint, of the theories of Elie
Kedourie, John Plamenatz, Ernest Gellner, and Benedict Anderson.
Chatterjee has the most sympathy for Andersons position, but, he
asks, What are the substantive differences between Anderson
and Gellner on 20th century nationalism? None. Both point out a
fundamental change in ways of perceiving the social world which
occurs before nationalism can emergeBoth describe the
characteristics of the new cultural homogeneity which is sought to be
imposed on the emerging nationIn the end, both see in third-world
nationalisms a profoundly modular character. They are inavariably
shaped according to contours outlined by given historical models

John Breuilly
challenges the conventional view that nationalism emerges
from a sense of cultural identity. Rather, he shows how
elites, social groups, and foreign governments use
nationalist appeals to mobilize popular support against the
state. Nationalism, then, is a means of creating a sense of
identity. This provocative argument is supported with a wideranging analysis of pertinent examplesnational opposition
in early modern Europe; the unification movement in
Germany, Italy, and Poland; separatism under the Hapsburg
and Ottoman empires; fascism in Germany, Italy, and
Romania; post-war anti-colonialism and the nationalist
resurgence following the breakdown of Soviet power.
The term 'nationalism' is used to refer to political movements
seeking or exercising state power and justifying such actions
with nationalist arguments.
"A nationalist argument is a political doctrine built upon three
basic assertions:

There exists a nation with an explicit and peculiar character.

The interests and values of this nation take priority over all
other interests and values.
The nation must be as independent as possible. This usually
requires at least the attainment of political sovereignity."
So the definition employed here can avoid the danger of
being too vague and all-embracing and, among other things,
draws attention to the modernity of nationalism.
Kedourie, Elie. Nationalism
Kedourie argues that nations are a late eighteenth/early
nineteenth century development. The author defines
nationalism as an ideology, which he contrasts with the older
constitutional politics of pre-national Europe. He claims that
nationalism resulted as a response to "the predicament of
modern man" - a variety of ideologies which caused
widespread alienation and served to divide societies.
Nationalism and socialism developed as opposing solutions
to this alienation. Kedourie argues that nationalism's greatest
achievement has been to enshrine national selfdetermination as the organizing principle of the international
order.
Kohn, Hans. The Idea of Nationalism
Kohn is primarily concerned with the origins of national
identity. He sees nations as modern, dating back no further
than the mid-eighteenth century. Even so, his major
argument is that nations are first and foremost the result of
history and as such modern nations have their roots in the
distant past (remarkably similar to Anthony D. Smith). Kohn
provides a very useful definition of the nation which

anticipates Benedict Anderson's "imagined communities."

Kohn writes that "Nationalism is first and foremost a state of
mind, an act of consciousness, which since the French
Revolution has been more and more common to mankind"
(10-11). Nations are to be strictly differentiated from more
permanent group identities such as family, clan, caste,
village, sect or religion. Indeed, nations are constantly
changing, making them exceptionally complex and difficult to
define. In addition to providing a very useful understanding
of the nature of nations, Kohn also provides a variety of
components which must be in place for nations to develop.
These include: common descent, language, territory, political
entity, customs and traditions, and religion. Anticipating the
work of scholars like Eugene Weber and Benedict Anderson,
Kohn suggests that groups become nationalized by the rise
of print capitalism, public education systems, growth of
population, increased influence of the masses, and new
information and propaganda techniques.