An examination of the critical dilemmas of nationalist politics in the First World War. The book proposes, using case-studies from events in the Hapsburg, Romanov and Ottoman Empires, that the war catapulted nationalist movements into positions of authority well before they were ready, culturally or politically.

This major new reference work with contributions from an international team of scholars provides a comprehensive account of ideas and practices of nationhood and nationalism from antiquity to the present. It considers both continuities and discontinuities, engaging critically and analytically with the scholarly literature in the field. In volume II, leading scholars in their fields explore the dynamics of nationhood and nationalism's interactions with a wide variety of cultural practices and social institutions – in addition to the phenomenon's crucial political dimensions. The relationships between imperialism and nationhood/nationalism and between major world religions and ethno-national identities are among the key themes explained and explored. The wide range of case studies from around the world brings a truly global, comparative perspective to a field whose study was long constrained by Eurocentric assumptions.

This major new reference work with contributions from an international team of scholars provides a comprehensive account of ideas and practices of nationhood and nationalism from antiquity to the present. It considers both continuities and discontinuities, engaging critically and analytically with the scholarly literature in the field. Volume I starts with a series of case studies of classical civilizations. It then explores a wide range of pivotal moments and turning points in the history of identity politics during the age of globalization, from 1500 through to the twentieth century. This overview is truly global, covering countries in East and South Asia as well as Europe and the Americas.

Aviel Roshwald directly challenges prevalent scholarly orthodoxies about the exclusively modern character of nationalism. He argues that nationalism's enduring power to shape the world we live in arises directly out of its position at the heart of inescapable social and political paradoxes that are not only fundamental to the modern experience, but many of whose roots can be traced back into ancient history. Modern nationalisms, the author contends, cannot be fully understood without first examining their ancient counterparts and archetypes. Deploying a broad array of historical and contemporary case studies (ranging from ancient Jewish nationalism to the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the nationalist politics of ancient Greece to the contested memory of the Alamo, and from the Yugoslav wars to Northern Ireland's Orange Parades) the author argues that a responsible politics of nationalism depends upon a forthright acknowledgement of the deep-seated and intrinsically insoluble dilemmas that inhere in it.

Aviel Roshwald directly challenges prevalent scholarly orthodoxies about the exclusively modern character of nationalism. He argues that nationalism's enduring power to shape the world we live in arises directly out of its position at the heart of inescapable social and political paradoxes that are not only fundamental to the modern experience, but many of whose roots can be traced back into ancient history. Modern nationalisms, the author contends, cannot be fully understood without first examining their ancient counterparts and archetypes. Deploying a broad array of historical and contemporary case studies (ranging from ancient Jewish nationalism to the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the nationalist politics of ancient Greece to the contested memory of the Alamo, and from the Yugoslav wars to Northern Ireland's Orange Parades) the author argues that a responsible politics of nationalism depends upon a forthright acknowledgement of the deep-seated and intrinsically insoluble dilemmas that inhere in it.

The First World War is commonly referred to as an historical watershed, and the nature of that great cataclysm's impact upon European society and culture remains a hotly debated topic. This book is a comparative study, with a broad coverage, enhanced by its interactive treatment of high culture, popular culture, and propaganda.

An examination of the critical dilemmas of nationalist politics in the First World War. The book proposes, using case studies from events in the Hapsburg, Romanov and Ottoman Empires, that the war catapulted nationalist movements into positions of authority well before they were ready culturally or politically.

Estranged Bedfellows examines the hitherto neglected subject of Anglo-French imperial rivalry in the Middle East, concentrating on the course of relations between the two powers in Syria and Lebanon during World War II. Roshwald begins his narrative with an account of the bungled Free French coup attempt in 1940 against the Vichy authorities in Beirut. In the following summer, a British invasion force ousted the Vichy French from the region in what amounted to an incongruous colonial side-show, acted out in the midst of World War II. For the remainder of the war, Syria and Lebanon were governed by an unwieldy Anglo-Free French condominium, which became the focus of bitter clashes between Churchill and de Gaulle, and which was used by Arab nationalists as a means of playing the two colonial powers off against each other. Drawing on both British and newly opened French archival sources, as well as OSS and Jewish Agency material, Roshwald examines the impact of this episode on overall relations between the wartime allies, and highlights the Byzantine plots and arcane intrigues which characterized local policymaking in what was one of the last acts in the opera-bouffe of Anglo-French colonial rivalry."