This book attempts to classify the accounts of nationhood that can be given in terms of the kinds of argument for statehood they support. It is based on the International Society for the Study of European Ideas conference in 1990.

Paul Gilbert is senior lecturer at the University of Hull.

Preface -- Introduction -- Nationalism, Nations, and Names -- Identity and Community -- "The Most Natural State" -- The Nation as Will and Idea -- The Nation-State -- Geography and Economics -- Language and Culture -- "An Outlook on Life" -- History and Destiny -- Conclusion