Conceptions of nationalism as a historical and contemporary phenomenon remain fragmentary in the late-1990s. This text analyzes the contraditions inherent in the general understanding of nationalism in order to fashion a new intellectual synthesis. In particular George Schopflin questions why states in the West are able to live with the nation as the legitimate space for democratic institutions, whereas in the post-communist world, especially in Eastern Europe, ethnicity is pre-eminent. He argues that the nation is simultaneously ethnic, civic and structured by the state. Schopflin applies his understanding of nationalism to various East and Central European case studies, including the former Yugoslavia and Hungary. He also compares the role of ethnicity in other states, including Britain.