Nationalism is one of the most powerful forces in the modern world, yet its study has only recently gained popularity. This reader gives historical depth to the recent debates on nationalism and traces the development of thought on nationalism across a wide range of issues with reference to texts spanning from Ernest Renan's What is a Nation? in the 1880s to current views given in the 1990s. Issues covered include the definitions of the nation and of nationalism, theories of nationalism, the origins of nations, nationalism in Europe, the Third World and within the International System, and the future of nationalism itself.