Imagined Communities

What makes people love and die for nations, as well as hate and kill in their name? In this important work, Benedict Anderson focuses a much-needed clear eye on nationalism as cultural artefact, created and transformed through historical processes--a fated and thus pure attachment experienced every day through the connections language forges with a living and dead community.

In selecting the genealogy of "thinking" the nation, Anderson chooses his trajectory well--thankfully reading not only from the social history of Europe, but also from the experiences of its colonies and other states across the globe (the armed conflicts of 1978--79 Indochina provided the immediate impetus for the original 1983 text). It is especially these states which Anderson's later revisions address, with his wise realisation that so-called "official nationalism" in colonised Asia and Africa was not transplanted without intervention from that of the dynastic states of 19th-century Europe. When dealing with such an emotive subject, Anderson thankfully avoids favouring rhetoric over grounded analysis. He thoroughly explains the role of print language in imagining community, particularly with the development of the novel set in a society to which the reader may or may not belong, but can recognise, and the newspaper, which, perhaps replacing morning prayers, is read every day by people who have a sense of their fellow readers' existence.

The power of Imagined Communities ultimately lies in its applied resonances. The force of the argument of an "imagined community" is not only invaluable to sociologists or political economists, but it implicates each of us in compelling notions of identity and belonging whether our imagined community is with a nation or with others who buy, listen to and watch the same cultural products as ourselves. Essential reading for anyone interested in a history of the present. --Fiona Buckland

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Sadly disappointing. - Rated
I was looking forward to reading 'Imagined Communities' as it is often seen as something of a standard text on nationalism. I ended up disappointed. The key lies with the subtitle of the book - 'Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism'. I'll try to pinpoint why but first I'll deal with what I think is valuable about the work.

It's beautifully written with witty asides and is easily read. There are plenty of insights into the way that nationalism works and how nations are imagined - that concept is a great one - how history, maps, museums, censuses, literature all contribute to the collective imagining of something called a nation and how this imagining is relatively modern. This is illustrated with some fascinating examples. Anderson is also fairly good at explaining how nationalism spread and how it has now become universal.

So, 'Imagined Communities' strength is explaining how nationalism works and, to a lesser extent, how it spreads. The weakness is in explaining the origins of nationalism. Anderson locates this in the coincidence of the rise of capitalism, the technology of print and language. Anderson also locates the first nationalisms as being creole nationalisms in the Americas thereby ignoring the rise of the nation states in the Netherlands and England prior to this. One is left with a nagging feeling that the explanation being offered here is inadequate.

Anderson is right to point out the rise of state bureaucracy in the relation to the rise of nationalism but neglects the idea that the needs of business and the protection of markets could play a similar function. In short, Anderson fails to account for the fact that the rise of nationalism mirrors the rise and spread of capitalism per se and not just print capitalism.

Anderson also states that the French model was as important as the creole in creating the template for nationalism to be copied throughout the world but then says virtually nothing about the role of the French Revolution in the creation of this template or, indeed, about the rise of nationalism in France. The reader is left to guess about how and why an idea which Anderson insists arose in places like Peru made it's way to Europe.

About two thirds of the way through, I had got the gist of the thesis and found the latter chapters unenlightening apart from illustrative examples.

Badly written though has some good points - Rated
This book though not totally without merit could have been condensed into about two pages of useful information. The author has taken rather selective interpretations of history and in many areas his historical knowledge contains huge gaps. There are a few good points made though the amount of nonsense one has to trawl through to get to these points is enough to make one despair.

An eloquent masterpiece and an all defining reflection - Rated
Without doubt the finest reflection on the origin and spread of nationalism ever written, not only in terms of its informed, imaginative perspective but also in the erudite quality of Anderson's narrative. As an expert on the history of South-East Asia, Anderson brings a valuable perspective to the all too Euro-centric debate on the rise of the nation state and the emotional attachment to it. A must for all who seek to discover the elusive and thusfar ill-defined origins of nationalism.