• Highly topical subject, including examples from many recent conflicts in the Balkans and the Middle East
• Written to appeal to a students on a variety of courses, including: history, geography, anthropology, law, religion, art, and sociology
• Examines the subject through conflicts past and present, rather than exclusively focusing on the theory
• Explores the often tension-filled relation between nationality, religion, and identity

This book examines the political and moral challenges that face the vast majority of human beings who consider themselves to be members of various nations. It explores nationality through the difficulties and conflicts that have arisen throughout history, and discusses nations and nationalism from social, philosophical, and anthropological perspectives. 

In this fascinating Very Short Introduction, Steven Grosby looks at the nation in history, the territorial element in nationality, and the complex ways nationality has co-existed with religion, and shows how closely linked the concept of nationalism is with being human.