Seminar
2017: Nation, state and empire
Belonging in a Globalised World
In this seminar, the contributors considered how different kinds of identity are tied to different kinds of communities. How does a nation emerge? How is unity achieved in an empire with a diverse population?
With the end of the Cold War and the triumph of globalisation, many believed that nationalism was a thing of the past: instead, the opposite is true. Today, we can see nationalism spreading across the world, as populistic and anti-democratic movements grow stronger.
Belonging somewhere seems to become even more important in a time of economic and social uncertainty. In a globalised world, identity, citizenship and belonging are consequently connected to birthplace and an established residence.
Contributors
The Identity of Territory
Robin Lane Fox: Nationalism: Does it Exist in the Classical World?
Emeritus Fellow, New College, University of Oxford
Gillian Clark: Rome, Jerusalem and Babylon: Augustine on Transient Empires and Everlasting Cities
Professor Emerita, Classics and Ancient History, University of Bristol
Steven Grosby: Nationality: Its Persistence and Significance
Emeritus Professor of Religion at Clemson University, South Carolina
Nation, State and Empire
Tom Holland: Kingship and Empire: The Forging of the United Kingdom of England
Historian and author
Peter H Wilson: Identity and Belonging in the Holy Roman Empire
Professor of the History of War, University of Oxford
Larry Siedentop: The Invention of the State
Emeritus Fellow, Keble College, University of Oxford
Lawrence James: Visions of Empire
Historian
Divine Kingdoms
Maurizio Viroli: Patriotism and Civic Religion in Early Modern Italian City-Republics
Emeritus Professor of Politics, Princeton University
Simon Mayall: The “Ummah” Versus of the “Nation State” – The Historical Roots of Modern Conflicts in the Middle East
Retired British Army officer and former senior Middle East adviser, UK Ministry of Defence
Jessica Frazier: Spirit, God, King: Modern nationalism as Spirit-Shrine-Mentality in Asia
Lecturer, University of Oxford and the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
The Citizen and the State
Jeremy Jennings: State, Nation and Empire in Modern Europe
Professor of Political Theory, King’s College London
Josef Joffe: Nation and State Vs. Europe
Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Philip Bobbitt: The US Constitution in the 21st Century
Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the Center on National Security, Columbia University
Nationalisms
Richard J Evans: Nationalism and National Identity in Germany from the 18th Century to the 21st
Professor Emeritus of History and President of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge
Lucy Riall: The Global Networks of Italian Nationalism
Professor of the History of Europe in the World, European University Institute, Florence
Lars Trägårdh: Democracy in the Blood: How Nationalism Enabled a Project of Radical Individual Freedom in Sweden
Professor of History and Civil Society Studies, Ersta Sköndal University College
Charles S. Maier: The United States: Nation and/or Empire in the Trump Era
Professor Emeritus of History, Harvard University
Dying for Territory
Rob Johnson: The Lethality and the Cohesion of Nation and Empire in the First World War
Director of the Changing Character of War Programme, Pembroke College, University of Oxford
Tim Marshall: Flags in an Age of Renewed Nationalism
Journalist and author
Harvey Whitehouse: The Dark Side to Loving a Group
Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford
Christopher Coker: Dying for Territory: A Phenomenological Approach
Director of LSE IDEAS
The State of the Nation
Janne Haaland Matláry: Security and National Identity: The European “Revolt of the Masses”
Professor of Political Science, University of Oslo and the Norwegian Defence University
Carlos Escudé: The Legitimacy of Interstate Hierarchy
Political scientist and author
Jonathan Fenby: China’s New Imperial State – Challenges and Contradictions
Chairman of China Research, TS Lombard
Martina Winkelhofer: The Struggle for Nationhood – Austrian Identity Poast WWII and Beyond
Historian and author
The Return of the Somewheres
David Goodhart: A Post-Populist Settlement
Journalist and author
Iain Martin: Beyond Brexit, Towards a Better Capitalism
Political commentator and author
Freddy Gray: The May Way: The British Answer to Populism
Deputy Editor, The Spectator