Abstract
Siniša Malešević has written a fascinating book rich in interesting questions about how nationalism is viewed and studied and the role it plays in late modernity.
The author – trained by prominent social anthropologist Ernest Gellner – tackles contemporary nationalism from a historical and sociological angle. The book’s theoretical framework builds on the author’s previous publications. Throughout, Malešević emphasizes the historical interdependence of coercive bureaucratization, centrifugal ideologization and development of micro-solidarity networks in modern nation-statehood. The focal point of the author’s analysis is the triadic combination of the organizational, ideological and micro-interactional underpinnings of nationalisms. As Malešević underlines the strength and worldwide proliferation of nationalist ideologies – firmly linked with the character of social organizations, the scale of ideological penetration, and the depth of the micro-level solidarities – he critically reviews the extant literature on nationalism and state-formation.
In the first part of the book (Chapters 1–3), Malešević skillfully unpacks both modernist and ethno-symbolist research traditions and highlights their merits and shortcomings. His critique of primordialist ethno-symbolism and long-run modernism outlines an alternative “grounded” version of the longue durée perspective, delineating processes that have shaped specific forms of nationalism, beyond simple contingencies (such as the reconstruction of ideological continuities between the imperial and the nation state models of social order). The author’s thorough intellectual dialogue with scholars such as Gellner, Anderson, Smith, Tilly, Hobsbawm, Elias, Breuilly, et al. constructs his definition of “grounded nationalisms”. Malešević argues that grounded nationalisms are deeply rooted in the institutions of modern statehood – from the educational system, mass media, the military and civil service to the public sphere – and also constitute an expansive socio-political doctrine because of their intrinsic malleability that makes the nation-state the only legitimate form of polity organization, inasmuch as it is grounded in the daily interactions of ordinary individuals within modern society. Hence, not only does the author conceptualize the structural transformations of state and nation-building, but he also provides scope to the analysis of differentiated social agency.
The theoretical discussion is followed by empirical case studies (Chapters 4–9), where the author applies the rich conceptual toolkit to various historical and geographical contexts, and shows how organizational power, ideological penetration, and micro-solidarity operate in practice. The main case studies analysed are the Balkans and Ireland, where the author examines specificities such as expansionist nationalistic imperialism (in the cases of Serbia and Bulgaria) and small-nation rhetorical and political constructions (e.g., the Irish case), and shows that the notion of “small nations” has less to do with geographical size and much more with the specific strategic and ideological goals of a historically determined nationalist movement. The focus on the Balkans and Ireland reflects the author’s self-reflexivity and interest. Nonetheless, Malešević does not neglect other parts of the world.
The third part of the book brings the empirical findings together by looking at general patterns of nationalist ideas and practices globally (Chapters 10–11). The premise of the last part is based on historical analysis of the organizational, ideological and interactional ground-ness of contemporary nationalisms. Whereas the nineteenth century was saturated with violent images of the nation, accompanied by reinterpretations of a supposedly glorious past as a didactic tool of socialization, today’s nationalisms are brought to life through the promotion of other societal elements, namely international achievements and recognition in the fields of economy, science, technology, art and sports, which all indicate national primacy, even superiority vis-à-vis other nation-states. In Malešević’s view, globalization is not the harbinger of nationalism’s decline. On the contrary, the two social phenomena have historically constituted one another, given that intensified globalization has made the proliferation of nationalist ideology possible as an omnipresent model for all polities and international organizations (as the adjective itself clearly reveals). That is to say that other ideologies such as individualism, consumerism, cosmopolitanism, and even religious fundamentalism are often modelled and underpinned by a highly dense nationalized environment. The seemingly bewildering grip of nationalism is also traced in the unexpected case of private military and security contractors, since these operators are born and raised in nation-centric societies. In other words, nationalist subjectivities have transversally penetrated contemporary global society. Most importantly, it is the inevitable ideological and organizational nationalist connubium between the societal order and the geopolitical order that validates the author’s assertion that nationalism should not be judged by its visibility but primarily by the scale of its structural and emotional capacities.
Malešević’s thesis is original and clearly expressed. It further enriches the debate on the socio-genesis of nationalism and the objective long-term conjunctures, neither linear nor monocausal, enabling its expansion as the dominant ideology worldwide. The book is by all means an erudite account that reformulates questions and provides a rather convincing empirical sociological analysis. Insofar as the author insists on the predominance of nationalism in contemporaneity, as based on organizational and ideological aspects, the book does not resolve the ambiguities of the nationalist chicken-and-egg dilemma. Moving between multiple generalizations and specifications surrounding grounded nationalisms, it is not always clear whether constructed statehood and nationhood can be politically revised. Despite the “historical novelty of this synergetic relationship between nationalism and socio-economic development” (p. 187), the author’s analysis sometimes suggests a sort of determinism that has no exit signs out of the nationalist labyrinth. Moreover, notwithstanding his brilliant and detailed account, the empirical evidence Malešević provides largely utilizes secondary research findings (albeit recent) rather than new specific data. That said, the book is undoubtedly a must read for all scholars interested in nationalism, modern statehood and historical sociology.