This rich source book informs its reader in a comparative perspective about the political and social-economic past and present of fifteen Western, Central and Eastern European countries. This includes the economic and social aspects of the development of the nation state, descriptions of the current political structures and institutions, an account of the types of ethnic composition of the populations, definitions of citizenship and a background to the existing political parties and preferences. The countries involved are: the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, France, Spain and Italy. The authors are scholars in the fields of nationalism and ethnic conflict and they were invited to write their country chapters along the lines of a common format, paying special attention to the notion of state and nation building processes, citizenship definitions and minority issues. This book is a comprehensive reference guide for students and scholars in the fields of social sciences, European studies, history and other related disciplines and generally to those who are interested in the past and present of any one of the large number of countries described.

Given the catastrophic history of the 'short 20th century' (Hobsbawm), the crucial question facing the new millennium-all over the world-is that of the future social as well as political development. At the centre of our engagement with this question should lie reflections on participatory forms of democratisation in as many societies around the globe as possible, so as to make globalisation more than simply an economic theme. Such reflections - as the contributions in this book show - from this perspective would also examine the possible ways in which relations might be constituted within political socialisation, participation and education. These concepts are in turn to be explored in the substantive discussions of 'democracy' and 'democratisation' in relation to individuals as well as political systems. If educational policy is social policy, if a democratic society demands citizens who are educated and thus capable of political action, the themes 'Political Education' and 'Political Socialisation' need to be addressed anew, and this is equally important for a rethinking of the future of the 'political' more generally. The contributions to the book contribute to a challenging debate.