The volumes are the result of an international conference held at Sapienza University in Rome on June 20 and 21, 2013, as the final stage of the PRIN (Progetto di rilevante interesse nazionale) project "Empires and Nations from the 18th to the 20th century", during which scholars from all over the world - academics, specialists, young researchers, PhD students and post-doctorates - confronted diverse, but connected, topics on the relations between multinational empires and the idea of the nation. In this way, the reality of the historical empires and national states was represented, and concepts such as identity, nationality, and sovereignty analyzed. The first volume is dedicated to the analysis of the origins of nation-states in the context of the multinational Habsburg, Ottoman and Tsarist empires, to the issue of national minorities and to the role of artists, painters, writers and intellectuals in the formation of their national identities. Specific sections deal with theoretical approaches and with concepts such as imperialism, geopolitics, nationality, and regionalism, and to the analysis of religious and gender issues.
The second volume is dedicated to the age of empires and colonialism, with reference to the colonial policy of the Great Powers (England, Russia, and Italy), the reality of post-colonial states, to the different patterns of decolonization and to economic systems. To the Great War and the dissolution of the multinational empires ample space is dedicated, providing insights on border issues, ethnic conflicts, foreign policies, the Adriatic question, and the territorial conflict between Yugoslavia and Italy. The final part of the book analyzes communism, the bipolar system, and the East-West conflict that divided Europe for almost half a century, with specific contributions that discuss post-communist nations and states.