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Abstract. The article questions the widely held view that nationalism was a significant feature of modem civilisation and particularly of nineteenth‐century Europe. Two groups of events are chosen for examination: reputedly classic instances of nationalism (the French Revolution, German responses to Napoleon, the Italian and German revolutions of 1848, Italian and German unification and the Eastern crisis of 1875‐8), and important international events which in an age of nationalism should reflect it (the Crimean War, Bismarck's alliances and the Franco‐Russian alliance). Defined as the effort of nation/peoples to defend/extend their power, nationalism is evaluated specifically for its breadth of support and its influence on decision‐makers which prove to be limited. This conclusion has implications not only for these events but also brings into question the established system of historical periodisation which presumes the distinctiveness of the nineteenth century and modem civilisation precisely because of their distinguishing features such as nationalism.

Presents the research frame, methods and results of a study of top team competences in small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises sponsored by the Training and Employment Agency in Northern Ireland. Explores a "postulated" framework of competence using a modified version of repertory grid with 31 successful companies who have a working top team. The results confirmed the framework and give core competences at two linked levels: competence domains, areas of activity regarded as an important focus for performance excellence and competences, integrated sets of behaviour which can be directed towards successful goals achievement within competence domains. Validation of the results is given by the outcomes of follow‐up interviews and the comparison with other work. Holds that the results emphasize a radical insight into the notion of managerial competence in the smaller company.