Abstract
Feelings of national identity may be traced back for centuries; theorising about the nature of nationality started in the eighteenth century. The concept that each nation has its own ‘genius’ or ‘spirit’ is present, early and tentatively, in the writings of the English commentators, Lords Shaftesbury and Bolingbroke. It was comprehensively and influentially expounded by Montesquieu in Book XIX of his Spirit of the Laws, published in 1748.
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© 1998 Derek Heater
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Heater, D. (1998). Contexts. In: The Theory of Nationhood. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26333-2_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26333-2_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-26335-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-26333-2
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