Book•
Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
01 Jan 1983-
TL;DR: In this paper, Anderson examines the creation and global spread of the 'imagined communities' of nationality and explores the processes that created these communities: the territorialisation of religious faiths, the decline of antique kingship, the interaction between capitalism and print, the development of vernacular languages-of-state, and changing conceptions of time.
Abstract: What makes people love and die for nations, as well as hate and kill in their name? While many studies have been written on nationalist political movements, the sense of nationality - the personal and cultural feeling of belonging to the nation - has not received proportionate attention. In this widely acclaimed work, Benedict Anderson examines the creation and global spread of the 'imagined communities' of nationality. Anderson explores the processes that created these communities: the territorialisation of religious faiths, the decline of antique kingship, the interaction between capitalism and print, the development of vernacular languages-of-state, and changing conceptions of time. He shows how an originary nationalism born in the Americas was modularly adopted by popular movements in Europe, by the imperialist powers, and by the anti-imperialist resistances in Asia and Africa. This revised edition includes two new chapters, one of which discusses the complex role of the colonialist state's mindset in the development of Third World nationalism, while the other analyses the processes by which all over the world, nations came to imagine themselves as old.
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TL;DR: The authors examines the place of refugees in the national order of things and suggests that the displacement of refugees is constituted differently from other kinds of deterritorialization by those states, organizations, and scholars who are concerned with refugees.
Abstract: In this new theoretical crossroads, examining the
place of refugees in the national order of things
becomes a clarifying exercise. On the one hand, trying to understand the circumstances of particular
groups of refugees illuminates the complexity of
the ways in which people construct, remember, and
lay claim to particular places as “homelands” or
“nations.” On the other, examining how refugees
become an object of knowledge and management
suggests that the displacement of refugees is constituted differently from other kinds of deterritorialization by those states, organizations, and
scholars who are concerned with refugees. Here,
the contemporary category of refugees is a particularly informative one in the study of the
sociopolitical construction of space and place.
1,913 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the emergence of multiperspectival institutional forms is identified as a key dimension of the condition of postmodernity in international politics and suggests some ways in which that exploration might proceed.
Abstract: The concept of territoriality has been studied surprisingly little by students of international politics. Yet, territoriality most distinctively defines modernity in international politics, and changes in few other factors can so powerfully transform the modern world polity. This article seeks to frame the study of the possible transformation of modern territoriality by examining how that system of relations was instituted in the first place. The historical analysis suggests that “unbundled” territoriality is a useful terrain for exploring the condition of postmodernity in international politics and suggests some ways in which that exploration might proceed. The emergence of multiperspectival institutional forms is identified as a key dimension of the condition of postmodernity in international politics.
1,906 citations
28 Jun 2006
TL;DR: In this paper, a representative sample of the members of the Facebook (a social network for colleges and high schools) at a US academic institution, and compare the survey data to information retrieved from the network itself.
Abstract: Online social networks such as Friendster, MySpace, or the Facebook have experienced exponential growth in membership in recent years. These networks offer attractive means for interaction and communication, but also raise privacy and security concerns. In this study we survey a representative sample of the members of the Facebook (a social network for colleges and high schools) at a US academic institution, and compare the survey data to information retrieved from the network itself. We look for underlying demographic or behavioral differences between the communities of the network's members and non-members; we analyze the impact of privacy concerns on members' behavior; we compare members' stated attitudes with actual behavior; and we document the changes in behavior subsequent to privacy-related information exposure. We find that an individual's privacy concerns are only a weak predictor of his membership to the network. Also privacy concerned individuals join the network and reveal great amounts of personal information. Some manage their privacy concerns by trusting their ability to control the information they provide and the external access to it. However, we also find evidence of members' misconceptions about the online community's actual size and composition, and about the visibility of members' profiles.
1,888 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an agent-based adaptive model is proposed to reveal the effects of a mechanism of convergent social influence, where actors are placed at fixed sites and the basic premise is that the more similar an actor is to a neighbor, the more likely that that actor will adopt one of the neighbor's traits.
Abstract: Despite tendencies toward convergence, differences between individuals and groups continue to exist in beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. An agent-based adaptive model reveals the effects of a mechanism of convergent social influence. The actors are placed at fixed sites. The basic premise is that the more similar an actor is to a neighbor, the more likely that that actor will adopt one of the neighbor's traits. Unlike previous models of social influence or cultural change that treat features one at a time, the proposed model takes into account the interaction between different features. The model illustrates how local convergence can generate global polarization. Simulations show that the number of stable homogeneous regions decreases with the number of features, increases with the number of alternative traits per feature, decreases with the range of interaction, and (most surprisingly) decreases when the geographic territory grows beyond a certain size. MAINTENANCE OF DIFFERENCES If people tend to become more alike in their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior when they interact, why do not all such differences eventually disappear? Social scientists have proposed many mechanisms to answer this question. The purpose of this article is to explore one more mechanism. The mechanism proposed here deals with how people do indeed become more similar as they interact, but also provides an explanation of why the tendency to converge stops before it reaches completion. It therefore provides a new type of explanation of why we do not all become alike. Because the proposed mechanism can exist alongside other mechanisms, it can be regarded as complementary with older explanations rather than necessarily competing with them. Unfortunately, no good term describes the range of things about which people can influence each other. Although beliefs, attitudes, and behavior cover a wide range indeed, there are still more things over which interpersonal influence extends, such as language, art, technical standards, and social norms. The most generic term for the
1,754 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2007TL;DR: Mudde as mentioned in this paper offers critical and original insights into three major aspects of European populist radical right parties: concepts and classifications; themes and issues; and explanations for electoral failures and successes.
Abstract: As Europe enters a significant phase of re-integration of East and West, it faces an increasing problem with the rise of far-right political parties. Cas Mudde offers the first comprehensive and truly pan-European study of populist radical right parties in Europe. He focuses on the parties themselves, discussing them both as dependent and independent variables. Based upon a wealth of primary and secondary literature, this book offers critical and original insights into three major aspects of European populist radical right parties: concepts and classifications; themes and issues; and explanations for electoral failures and successes. It concludes with a discussion of the impact of radical right parties on European democracies, and vice versa, and offers suggestions for future research.
1,629 citations