NISE - National movements and Intermediary Structures in Europe.

Since the end of the 18th century nationalism, national movements and national identity have played an important role in the history of Europe. In spite of the numerous local specific conditions and the historical variables, there are parallels between the national movements. The discourses of national uniqueness were forged in a context of intense international exchanges across national borders. Moreover, national ideologies can only be defined through their dialectical relationship with one another. Despite a recent upsurge, the fact that national movements are pre-eminently transnational has been insufficiently studied so far. There are relatively few studies about transfers and transnational influences in the construction of nations and there is a lack of empirically based comparisons: national identity has been mainly studied within separate nations. Even when comparisons are made, the cases are often chosen from the same geographical area. Researchers from other linguistic regions often remain unaware of the results across the language barrier. This prevents many studies from penetrating the international arena and limits researchers to only carrying out comparative research within their own linguistic community. Additionally, much information on the sources for the study of national movements is based on uncontrolled data, which are not presented in a systematic way. So far, there has not been a coordinated effort on a European level to collect records, documentation and information on this subject, to conserve and disclose them for research. At the same time there is also a need for advice and support for the conservation and disclosure of the sources. All these elements enhance the need for comparative, transnational historiographical methods and means. That is why the interdisciplinary NISE network was established for research, heuristic and archival purposes. Its main objective is to enable comparative and transnational studies on national and regional movemens. Mapping out personal and institutional relations between national movements will enable researchers to study political and cultural transfers. This will in turn lead to a more empirically driven theory formation of nationalism.

Keywords:POLITICAL HISTORY, NATIONS AND NATIONALISM

Disciplines:Economic history, History