This volume is a comprehensive introduction to the idea of the nation, and offers a critical engagement with the contending manifestations of nationhood. Nations and Nationalisms provides an exhaustive overview of various theories and theorists of nationalism – from classical thinkers such as Marx and Max Weber to contemporary intellectuals like Foucault and Yael Tamir. It contextualises nationalisms by analysing a range of issues – such as globalisation, transnationalism, subnationalisms, stateless nationalisms, neo-nationalism and the cyberstate – and focuses specifically on the debates on nation-building in India.

A separate chapter surveys Indian English fiction's negotiations with nationalism. Drawing on numerous examples from around the world, the book charts the permutations and transformations in the conceptual space of the nation.