The chapter discusses preconditions for the rise of nationalism. The French Revolution contributed directly to the formation of nationalism as it created a modern nation in France and contributed to the rise and the spread of nationalism via a direct military and political impact beyond France. Some of the efforts of the French Revolution contributed to the formation of nationalist ideology. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who is one of the major contributors to the theories of nationalism, contributed to the formation of a natinalist ideology. He argued that a nation exists independently of the...

The chapter discusses preconditions for the rise of nationalism. The French Revolution contributed directly to the formation of nationalism as it created a modern nation in France and contributed to the rise and the spread of nationalism via a direct military and political impact beyond France. Some of the efforts of the French Revolution contributed to the formation of nationalist ideology. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who is one of the major contributors to the theories of nationalism, contributed to the formation of a natinalist ideology. He argued that a nation exists independently of the state. Polish resistance also helped to make nationalism an intellectual and political force as it illustrated a classic case of a nation fighting for a state. This had a direct ideological significance in the history of nationalism. The Protestant Reformation had an important, albeit indirect, effect on nationalism and this was due to the translation of the Bible into a vernacular.