Catalogue XI: The Myth of the European Nation State

In this catalogue we have selected 28 items – one for each of the states of the current European Union – that explore the history and idea of the European nation state. In his introductory essay Professor Colin Crouch argues that territorial sovereignty is rooted more in political expediency than in natural borders or cultural identity. Advances in mapmaking technologies not only preceded the birth of the modern European nation state, but were also necessary conditions for its creation.