Description:"Understanding nationalism is central to understanding many of the social conflicts and political disputes that dominate the headlines today. In this compelling Very Short Introduction, Steven Grosby uses examples throughout history, from ancient Israel to the present-day Balkans, to discuss how nations arise from a sense of kinship, territory, history, and shared religion." "Highlighting the social, philosophical, and anthropological perspectives, he asks why nations exist, when they first appeared, and what this divisiveness can tell us about our nature as human beings."--Résumé de l'éditeur.