Economic Change And The National Question In Twentieth Century Europe

The authors in this collection of essays address the largely neglected but significant economic aspects of the national question in its historical context during the course of the twentieth century. There exists a large gap in our understanding of the historical relationship between the 'national question' and economic change. Above all, there is insufficient knowledge about the economic dimension of the historical experience with regard to the former multi-national states, such as the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia; and equally too little is known about the economic component of national tensions and conflicts in bilingual Belgium or Finland, or the multilingual Spain or Switzerland. At the same time as emphasis is placed on the complex relationships between the economy and society in individual European countries, questions of state, identity, language, religion and racism as instruments of economic furtherance are at the centre of the contributors' attention.

First published in 1997, this book has been produced by the leading scholars of the economic history of the region in the belief that the events of 1989/90, and the subsequent turmoil in every country affected, can only be accurately interpreted from an informed historical perspective. The chapters are accessible and authoritative; each is from a first-rank and highly experienced economic historian of the nation under discussion. The necessarily differing treatments of the social, economic and national problems correct the widespread misapprehension that the countries of the region are essentially alike.

This comprehensive single-volume source of information on the social and economic transformations in Europe over the past hundred years, fills a critical gap in our knowledge. It examinations population trends, social structures, and economic structures, and offers an integrative overview of changes in both the organization of the economy and the role of the state in economic management.

Originally published in 2003, this book addresses the rarely explored subject of the reciprocal relationships between nationalism, nation and state-building, and economic change. Analysis of the economic element in the building of nations and states cannot be confined to Europe, and therefore these diverse yet interlinked case-studies cover all continents. Authors come to contrasting conclusions, some regarding the economic factor as central, while others show that nation-states came into being before the constitution of a national market. The essays leave no doubt that the nation-state is an historical phenonemon and as such is liable to 'expiry' both through the process of globalisation and through the development of a 'cyber-society' which evades state control. By contrast, developments in southeastern Europe, the former USSR, and parts of Africa and the Far East show that building the nation-state has not run its course.

This volume examines the volatile nature and complex dynamics of national movements and ethnic conflict around the world.

The historical impact of national movements in Europe has been dramatic and continues to be an issue of major importance. Leading historians authoritatively discuss European nationalism in its historical context.

Population Displacement in Lithuania in the 20th Century: Experiences, Identities and Legacies offers an account on how two world wars produced a series of population displacements in Lithuania in the course of the 20th century.

This is a book about economics and racism: During World War I, the liberal global economic system, based on principles of free trade and most-favored nation treatment and negotiated in gold parities, collapsed for good. The disintegration and collapse of commerce eventually led to racist cleansing, expulsion and mass murder. Against this background, this book offers new perspectives on the racist fault-lines that appeared and deepened in European economies after the end of what was regarded as the Great War. At what point did people start to ostracize their neighbors economically because they thought they were of a different ethnic group? Who decided who was to be excluded? Where did the fault-lines open? Where did the boundaries lie? How were they defined – by law, or by common practice? How much extra time and money were people prepared to spend in order to do ostracize their neighbors? And what did that mean for the economy – and society – as such?