Introduction

Abstract

Nations are valuable to us because of the way they organise social life and allow us to participate in shared traditions and practices that are also constitutive to many political communities. The shared cultural heritage of national communities allows us to celebrate diversity while being at home. Nevertheless, cultural distinctiveness comes at a price. National identity is often seen to be formed through rejection of what is ‘alien’ or ‘foreign’. This chapter introduces the questions and themes of the book and familiarises the reader with the key terms, such as: ‘subject’, ‘self’ and the ‘nation’.