Nations without States: A Historical Dictionary of Contemporary National Movements

by James B. Minahan

Overview

Russians are suppressing the Chechen; Ibo nationalism may yet tear Nigeria apart. With the end of the Cold War, any of the world's stateless peoples could be in tomorrow's headlines. This book provides an essential guide to the stateless nations suppressed or ignored during the Cold War. In more than 200 national surveys, the volume highlights the historical, political, social, economic, and diplomatic evolution of many of the currently emerging nations without states. Including nations from all continents—from the Chechen in Eastern Europe, to the Ibo in Africa, and the Quebeckers in North America—the book addresses the current nationalist resurgence by focusing on the most basic element of any nationalism, the nation itself.

The book provides the only source of concise information on stateless nations. Each entry includes the nation's name and alternative names, population statistics, information on major languages and religions, geographical information, independence declarations, information on the national flag, a brief sketch of the primary national group or groups, and a profile of the nation's history and national development to the present. A chronological appendix of declarations of independence helps to set the waves of nationalism in an historical context. A second appendix provides a geographic listing, by region and nation, of national organizations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313283543
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/19/1996
Series:	Studies in Historiography; 3
Pages:	720
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.50(d)
Lexile:	1230L (what's this?)

About the Author

JAMES MINAHAN is an independent researcher and freelance writer living in Barcelona, Spain.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
The Dictionary
Appendix A
Appendix B
Index

Editorial Reviews

Chechens in Russia are perhaps the best currently known people under the domination of a larger state in which they enjoy little or no cultural power and often suffer subordinate legal and social status. Others include the Ibo in Nigeria, the Quebecois in Canada, the Rom (Gypsies) in many countries, the Welsh in Britain, the Catalonians in Spain, the Ainu in Japan, and Hawaiians and Puerto Ricans in the US. Spanish writer Minahan reviews the current status of 210 stateless nations and the modern movements to gain cultural recognition, either with or without political autonomy. Appendices list declarations of independence by nonstate nations since 1890, geographical distribution, and nationalist organizations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

This title is an alphabetically arranged survey of 210 little-known "nations" that are not states and are not recognized by major countries as being independent political entities. The author claims in his preface that there are altogether some 9,000 such groups, and he discusses the problems involved in establishing criteria for inclusion. Antarctica, for example, publishes postage stamps, but has no citizens; Palestine has embassies but is not an independent state. His final criterion seems to be "those stateless nations that have demonstrated a political mobilization in pursuit of a goal, the status of a self-governing political entity." Under this umbrella are well-known "nations" such as Scotland, Lombardy, Puerto Rico, and Quebec, as well as the little-known Kawrhoolei, Kuban, Mari-el, Romanistan (the "nation" of the Gypsies), and Wah Each entry is three pages in length and includes a map of the locale; a black-and-white drawing of the flag (with text description); data on population geography, and the inhabitants; and a longer passage on the history of the people and especially on recent attempts at independence or self-government, followed by a bibliography. Appendixes include dates of declarations of independence and a list of the entries arranged by continent. A rather undesirable feature is that each entry is listed by its technically correct name, rather than by a commonly known one. Thus, the Isle of Man is listed as Mannin, the land of the Basques as Euzkadi, the Punjab as Khalistan, Lapland as Sapmi, and Greenland as Kalaallit-Nunaat. The reader is therefore advised to make frequent use of the index For ferreting out information about peoples normally neglected in world almanacs or handbooks of international data, this work is highly recommended.

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