The book, now available in paperback, examines the power of nationalism to solder nation-states back together rather than break them apart. In this innovative, cross-continental comparison of nation-building in Germany and Vietnam, the focus is on their shared experience of division, communism and regional integration, offering original insights into how governments go about maintaining nation-state legitimacy in the twenty-first century.

Neither German nor Vietnamese governments have succeeded in effacing national division, for a host of historical, economic, psychological, sociological and even climatic reasons. Yet their efforts tell us a great deal about how national identity is negotiated today. The study offers a fresh perspective on nationalist ideology which will be of interest to specialists and students in comparative politics, European and Southeast Asian studies as well as nationalism studies. For the general reader, it provides a fascinating introduction to contemporary nation-building in a unique combination of cases across two continents.