Grounded Nationalisms: A Sociological Analysis

by Siniša Malešević

Globalisation is not the enemy of nationalism; instead, as this book shows, the two forces have developed together through modern history. Malešević challenges dominant views which see nationalism as a declining social force. He explains why the recent escalations of populist nationalism throughout the world do not represent a social anomaly but are, in fact, a historical norm. By focusing on ever-increasing organisational capacity, greater ideological penetration and networks of micro-solidarity, Malešević shows how and why nationalism has become deeply grounded in the everyday life of modern human beings. The author explores the social dynamics of these grounded nationalisms via an analysis of varied contexts, from Ireland to the Balkans. His findings show that increased ideological diffusion and the rising coercive capacities of states and other organisations have enabled nationalism to expand and establish itself as the dominant operative ideology of modernity.

Genres: Sociology

320 pages, Hardcover

Published April 11, 2019

About the author

*Yugoslav born Irish Full Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University College, Dublin, Ireland.

Sinisa Malesevic is a Full Professor of Comparative Historical Sociology. He was appointed UCD Chair of Sociology in September 2011. Previously he held research and teaching appointments at the Institute for International Relations (Zagreb), the Centre for the Study of Nationalism, CEU (Prague) - where he worked with late Ernest Gellner -, and at the University of Galway. He also held visiting professorships and fellowships at NIAS/NIOD Amsterdam, Uppsala University, Universite Libre de Bruxelles (Eric Remacle Chair in Conflict and Peace Studies), the London School of Economics, the Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna and the Australian Defence College, Canberra. Prof Malesevic is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (elected in 2010), Academia Europaea (The Academy of Europe, elected in 2014) and an Associated Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (elected in 2012). He is also Senior Fellow and Associated Researcher at CNAM, Paris.

Prof Malesevic's main research interests include the study of war and violence, ethnicity, nation-states, and nationalism, empires, ideology, sociological theory and the comparative historical sociology. Recent books include: Nationalism as a Way of Life: The Rise and Transformation of Modern Subjectivities (Cambridge UP, 2025, in press), Why Humans Fight: The Social Dynamics of Close-Range Violence (Cambridge UP, 2022, winner of the 2023 outstanding book award from the American Sociological Association, PWSC section, shortlisted for the 2023 CRS book award), Comparative Sociological Theory (Sage 2021) + Classical Sociological Theory (Sage 2021), both with S. Loyal, Grounded Nationalisms: A Sociological Analysis (Cambridge UP, 2019, runner up/honourable mention, 2020 Stein Rokkan book award), The Rise of Organised Brutality: A Historical Sociology of Violence (Cambridge UP, 2017, winner of the 2018 Outstanding Book Award from the American Sociological Association, PWSC section), Nation-States and Nationalisms: Organization, Ideology and Solidarity (Polity, 2013), and The Sociology of War and Violence (Cambridge UP, 2010, reprinted in 2012), He has also authored over 140 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and has given more than 200 invited talks all over the world. His publications have been translated into Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Albanian, Bosnian, Chinese, Croatian, Persian/Farsi, Turkish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Serbian and Spanish. In 2023 Prof Malesevic received Robin M. Williams, Jr. Award for Distinguished Contributions to Scholarship, Teaching, and Service, from the American Sociological Association.