Browse Hierarchy POL371: Nationalism and Ethnicity in International Relations

The aim of this module is to study the impact of nationalism and ethnicity in international relations by combining a theoretical approach with the study of a range of case-studies to be developed after reading week. The module considers the concepts of nation and nationalism in classical social theory by examining the work of Marx, Durkheim and Weber. It then moves on to analyze a range of theories of nationalism formulated in the twentieth century with a particular focus on the work of B. Anderson, E. Gellner, and A. Smith. The first part of the module concludes by exploring whether nationalism and cosmopolitanism can ever be compatible. The module proceeds by examining the relationship between ethnicity and self-determination. It also studies the role of ethnicity in the development of fascist and Nazi regimes across Europe; a topic which is employed as springboard for the analysis of migration and the rise of the radical right across today's Europe. It concludes by considering the relationship between ethnicity and violence.