Malesevic offers a novel sociological answer to the age-old question: 'Why do humans fight?'. Instead of focusing on the motivations of individuals, this book emphasises the centrality of the social contexts that make fighting possible. It will appeal to students and scholars of war, violent crime, and inter-personal violence.
Despite many predictions made over the last two hundred years that nation- states and nationalism are transient phenomena that will eventually fade away, the historical record and contemporary events show otherwise.
Offering a fresh synthesis of existing knowledge, this book aims to reshape the understanding of ethnic and racial relations for a new generation. Its insights could significantly influence future discussions and agendas in the field, positioning it as a potentially landmark work since the 1980s.
This book challenges the prevailing orthodoxy that sees organised violence as in continuous decline, arguing instead that evidence shows that it continues to rise.
Challenging the dominant view of nationalism as a historically declining social force, Malesevic explains why the recent escalation of populist nationalism is not a social anomaly but rather a historical norm. Globalisation is not the enemy of nationalism; instead, as this book shows, the two forces have developed together through modern history.