The proclamation of a "New World Order," hailed at the end of the cold war, coincided with an eruption of nationalism. The withering of the bipolar balance of power has created a vacuum that has been filled by a new tide of ethnic conflict in the former Soviet Union, the Balkans, Somalia, and elsewhere. Despite general recognition of this resurgent phenomenon, there is neither widespread awareness nor expert consensus on the meaning and origins of nationalism.

The Nationalism Reader depicts the historical evolution of nationalist thought in the words of leading political actors and thinkers. But this anthology is more than merely a useful reference book. By classifying the questions of nationalism according to conflicting political perspectives, its introductory essay and organization show that liberalism, conservatism, and socialism oscillate between a universalist (or a semi-universalist) conception of human rights and nationalism. In this respect, the selection of texts presented here sheds new theoretical light on the study of nationalism, as well as presenting major European, American, and Third World contributions to nationalist thought.