Nationalism and Modernity: A Mediterranean Perspective

'œA collection of ten essays, three dealing with the problem of language and nationalism, two discussing the development of state and nation in Eastern Europe and in the Arab World, and one discussing how the state and nation will be affected by the global information environment and whether the state/nation will survive. The three central essays deal with the question of Jews, Judaism, Zionism, and Israel, and their interaction with the concepts of nation and state. The question is posed whether Israel, now a state, is a nation. Many examples are drawn to demonstrate the analogies between Israel and other state/nation developments, but the uniqueness of Israel and of Zionism in relation to other states/nations is also pointed out. This study was sponsored by the Reuben Hecht Chair of Zionism and Jewish Political Thought at Haifa University and attempts to analyze and portray Jewish nationalism and the development of Israel in relation to other Mediterranean countries. The three essays on Israel express the precariousness of state/nation building in Israel even as it seeks greater integration into the Mediterranean world and the global community. It is suggested that perhaps the latter will occur before the former.'' ChoiceJoseph Alpher is the author of 'Nationalism and Modernity: A Mediterranean Perspective', published 1986 under ISBN 9780275921378 and ISBN 0275921379.