Blood & Belonging

Reissue of an incisive exploration of the many faces of modern nationalism by the esteemed author of On Consolation ___________________ 'An immensely impressive meditation on the post-Cold War period... powerful and subtle' Library Journal 'Ignatieff is a reporter and thinker, and both his reportage and reflections are useful and often illuminating' LA Times 'Vivid and readable... [It] provides unforgettable impressions of societies that are going in the wrong direction on the highway to brotherhood and unity' Washington Post ___________________ In 1993 Michael Ignatieff set out on a journey to the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Germany, Quebec, Kurdistan and Northern Ireland in order to explore the many faces of modern nationalism. Why, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, were so many nation states disintegrating into ethnic conflict? What did nationalism promise, that so many were willing to shed blood in the name of an idea of belonging? In a stimulating mix of interviews, history and evocative reportage, Ignatieff provides a searching analysis of the brutal conflicts and powerful fantasies produced by ethnic nationalism, and questions the possibility of a nationalism based on shared civic values. Reissued with a new preface, Blood & Belonging is a nuanced, fascinating account of one of our era's defining political issues.

Michael Ignatieff is a writer, historian and former politician. He has taught at Cambridge, Oxford, the University of Toronto and Harvard and is currently university professor at Central European University in Vienna. His books, which have been translated into twelve languages, include Blood & Belonging, Isaiah Berlin, The Needs of Strangers and The Russian Album, all published or forthcoming with Pushkin Press, and On Consolation.