Národy nejsou dílem náhody - Příčiny a předpoklady utváření moderních evropských národů – Hroch Miroslav (2023)

This Czech-language book offers a synthetic account of the processes that shaped nations in nineteenth-century Europe. It balances empirical findings with the results of theoretical analyses in the modern social sciences, rejecting one-sided theories that view the nation as the result of mass manipulation. It argues that the formation of modern nations can be understood only by combining knowledge of the development of ethnic, political and economic relations since the Middle Ages with knowledge of national activities and efforts to mobilize the population. The first part provides a critical overview of existing views and theoretical concepts of the nation and nationalism. The second examines the objective factors underlying national identity, including linguistic and cultural traditions, the legacy of the past, and the civic and economic modernization of society. The third focuses on activities carried out in the name of the nation, language demands, the building of culture, the interpretation and instrumentalization of history, struggles for political power and economic positions, and culturally focused and emotionally driven agitation.