In many ways, an understanding of nationalism is essential to understanding contemporary Asia. For many Asian nations, the colonial experience is only a generation away. They are still wrestling with the effects of imperialism and trying to master the political orders they inherited -- many of them wholly artificial.
For countries like Japan and China, the problem is not so much the creation of a coherent political community, but reconciling history with modernity. For some Asian nations, those tensions go to the heart of national identity.
"Asian Nationalism" is a primer on the topic. The theoretical discussions will leave nonacademic readers struggling to stay awake. Fortunately, those sections are mercifully brief. Unless you're studying for an exam, you can skip them with a reasonably clear conscience.
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