"The historical impact of national movements in Europe has been dramatic and continues to be an issue of major importance. This volume by leading historians discusses authoritatively the national question in Europe in its historical context." "The national question is not of course a specifically European phenomenon, but for reasons of space and intelligibility coverage has been limited geographically. The aim is that the essays should attract readers interested in a historical problem that has been difficult to encompass theoretically and to deal with practically. A glance at what is being shown or written in the media with regard to national and ethnical issues demonstrates the validity of this aim, not only with regard to the multinational former Soviet Union or Yugoslavia in eastern Europe, but also (for example) to the four nations of the British Isles or bi-national Belgium in the West." "This volume forms part of a sequence of collections of essays which began with The Enlightenment in national context (1981) and has continued with Romanticism in national context (1988), Fin de siecle and its legacy (1990), The Renaissance in national context (1991), and The scientific revolution in national context (1992). The purpose of these and other envisaged collections is to bring together comparative, national and interdisciplinary approaches to the history of great movements in the development of human thought and action."--Jacket.