With the end of the Cold War and the triumph of globalisation, many believed that nationalism now was a thing of the past: instead, the opposite is true. Today, we can see nationalism spreading across the world, as populistic and antidemocratic movements grow stronger. Belonging somewhere seems to become even more important in a time of economic and social uncertainty. In a globalised world, identity, citizenship and belonging are consequently connected to birthplace and an established residence.

In these essays the writers consider how different kinds of identity are tied to different kinds of communities. How does a nation emerge? How is unity achieved in an empire with a diverse population?

Contributors: Philip Bobbitt, Gillian Clark, Christopher Coker, Carlos Escudé, Richard J Evans, Jonathan Fenby, Robin Lane Fox, Jessica Frazier,
David Goodhart, Freddy Gray, Steven Grosby, Tom Holland, Lawrence James, Jeremy Jennings, Josef Joffe, Rob Johnson, Charles S Maier, Tim Marshall, Iain Martin, Janne Haaland Matláry, Simon Mayall, Lucy Riall, Larry Siedentop, Lars Trägårdh, Maurizio Viroli, Harvey Whitehouse, Peter H Wilson, Martina Winkelhofer