Έθνος και Εθνικισμός. Συνοπτική επισκόπηση ενός σύγχρονου επιστημονικού διαλόγου

Abstract

The post-World War II decades have witnessed an increasing scholarly interest in the field of Nations and Nationalism and, following the national resurgence in numerous parts of the globe, the blossoming of a fervent academic debate. This article seeks to offer an introduction to the contemporary debate on these issues. It starts by delimiting the field itself and, then, turns to the existing theoretical approaches, grouped as Schools of interpretation, namely the Modernists, Primordialists, Perennialists, Ethnosymbolists, and Postmodenists. The basic arguments espoused by each School are discussed, along with their strengths and limitations, in an attempt to show the extent of their contribution to this lively and wide-ranging debate characterised by divergent views and rival explanatory accounts. Given the theoretical polyphony of the field, the article discusses the perspectives of this debate all the while attempting to propose a viable way by which these sharp disagreements could eventually be reconciled to the benefit of the research community as a whole. Finally, the debate is briefly considered in the light of the ongoing globalisation processes.