Towards Modern Nationhood: Wales and Slovenia in Comparison, c. 1750-1918

A comparative history of nineteenth-century nationalist movements in Wales and Slovenia.

Towards Modern Nationhood is a comparative history of nineteenth-century national movements in two stateless countries, Wales and Slovenia. While these movements are often contrasted, Robin Okey reveals the shared strategies behind both western and eastern European nationalists. In both cases, activists organized around local identities that were legible to their occupiers. The Habsburg Empire respected multilingualism, so Slovenians mobilized behind their language. The British Empire respected religious pluralism, so the Welsh mobilized behind nonconformity. Ultimately, the stories of these two national movements make plain the surprising efficacy of soft power in the form of local traditions, languages, and religion.