Cover; Symbols of Defeat in the Construction of National Identity; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1 Theories of Nations and Nationalism; Modernism and Ernest Gellner; The Limits of Modernism; Ethnosymbolism and Anthony Smith; The Limits of Ethnosymbolism; Symbols of Defeat: Authenticity and Modernity; The Nation as a Surrogate Religion; 2 Totem Sacrifice and National Identity; Totem Violence and Social Order; The Function of Sacrificial Ritual and Myth; Religion, Nation, and State; Theories of Nations and Nationalism Revisited
Summary
Explains why nations elevate images of their own defeat to the center of their symbolism and understanding of their history
