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After the church"™s dominating influence waned in Europe and the idea of nationalism was developed by redefining church doctrines in the form of a set of shared beliefs, nation-states began to arise in Europe based on nationalism. Such developments that all had resulted from the socio-historical dynamics in European countries, led to the formation of powerful nation-states. However, this pattern was considered to be a weapon against religion when it was imported to the Middle East and countries like Iran and Turkey with basically no indigenous outcomes and solely based on their historical experience of dealing with the West. Nevertheless, religious traditions not only were not removed from the socio-political realms of life all at once, but contributed to the process of nation-state building as elements that can giving identity. Such elements evolved differently in Iran and Turkey in spite of many similarities, such as Muslim nations, the moral system of Islam, the spirit of Islamic amity and brotherhood. The Republic of Turkey emerged from Western modernism due to the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, while the Iranian modern state formed based on Iranian history and culture, indeed, with an archaistic approach. The question that the present paper seeks to answer is, "how did the Islamic identity in Iran and Turkey influence the nation-state building process?" And given the fact that the process still exists, "how will be the impact of Islam on the new features of nation-states (citizen rights, civil society organizations, etc.)?" The study findings indicate that both Iranian and Turkish states have used Islam for the establishment and building of a nation-state based on the position of religious teachings and the clergy in their societies. The role of Islam was greater in Iran. In addition, the process of nation-building in Iran and Turkey has not ended yet, and it seems that there will be an Islamic conciliatory yet volatile approach to the new features of the nation-state building.

Introduction: The problem of nationalism in post-apartheid South africa --The raw material of nation-building --Who are South Africans? --Nationalism and the end of apartheid --Legacies --Improvising the nation, 1990-96 --Beyond the improvised nation --Over the rainbow : from Mandela to Mbeki --From reconciliation to social cohesion --South Africa today : coming together or falling apart? --Do South Africans have a shared life? --The spectre of anomie : deviance and national citizenship --Nation-building 20 years on --Conclusion: the problem of nationalism in South Africa today.

The U.S. Army increasingly faces adversaries that are difficult to define. The threat landscape is further complicated by the silent partnership between criminal organizations, irregular groups, and nation-states. This collaboration, whatever its exact nature, is problematic, because it confounds understanding of the adversary, making existing countermeasures less effective, and thus directly challenging U.S. national security interests. Military action taken without full appreciation of the dynamics of the nature of these relationships is likely to be ineffective at best or suffer unintended consequences. This monograph provides a comprehensive assessment of the threat to U.S. national security interests posed by the silent partners, as well as how the vulnerabilities of the relationships could be exploited to the advantage of the U.S. Army. ; https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1388/thumbnail.jpg

Historians usually try to understand and interpret the reasons for the successful result of national movements. Less attractive seems to be the question, why the early "nationalists" took the decision to persuade the members of their ethnie to accept a new national identity, i.e., why did Phase B start? The author of this article formulated many years ago the hypothesis that this decision had to do with the identity crisis caused by great reforms and changes which put in question the old system of values and legitimacy, and eroded old pre-modern ties in patriarchal or late "feudal" societies. The article tries to check this hypothesis analyzing the turn towards Phase B in the case of Czech intellectuals (in Bohemia) at the end of the eighteenth and first decade of the nineteenth centuries, in the time of radical enlightened reforms and of the wars against the French Revolution. Loosening their old ties and traditional values, these intellectuals tried to find a new identity with their nation-to-be. The author argues that this decision was not a voluntarist mood or "nationalist" plague but that it had serious social motivation. The same can be said about the turn of the incipient Czech national movement towards language and literature. (Original abstract)

This book develops new ways of thinking beyond the nation as a form of political community by seeking to transcend ethnonational categories of 'us' and 'them'. Drawing on scholarship and cases spanning Pacific Asia and Europe, it steps outside assumptions linking nation to state. Accessible yet theoretically rich, it explores how to think about nationhood beyond narrow binaries and even broader cosmopolitan ideals. Using cutting-edge critical research, it fundamentally challenges the positive connotations of British patriotism and UK politics' increasingly shrill anti-immigrant discourse, po.

Examines security-versus-democracy, sovereignty, and neutrality dilemmas; also reviews the experiences of El Salvador, Namibia, Angola, and Western Sahara.

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- 1 Introduction: The elusive goal -- 2 Ambitions: The state-building agenda of UN transitional administrations -- 3 Concepts: The rule of law in UN state-building missions -- 4 The line of least resistance: The UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia -- 5 State-building without a state: The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo -- 6 Beyond the blank slate: The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor -- 7 No entry without strategy -- Bibliography -- Index.