A Nation Forged by Empire
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- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Publication date:
- 08 July 2026
- 20 August 2026
- ISBN:
- 9781009759304
- 9781009759311
- 9781009759298
- Dimensions:
- (229 x 152 mm)
- Weight & Pages:
- 0.5kg, 360 Pages
- Dimensions:
- (229 x 152 mm)
- Weight & Pages:
- 0.48kg, 360 Pages
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Book description
How do you reconcile imperial power with the nation-state? This study explores the enduring legacy of German colonialism, tracing the imperial origins of the German nation-state as it emerged in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Following unification under Prussian leadership, Germany expanded overseas to assert its place among the global powers. The resulting colonial empire left lasting imprints not only on local communities in Africa, the Pacific, and China but also on the German metropole itself. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources from European and African archives, Matthias Leanza demonstrates how the challenges of colonial governance prompted domestic reforms that reshaped the political arena, strengthened federal authority over the states, and sharpened national identity. While Germany's overseas ambitions ended abruptly with the First World War, the legacy of empire endured, embedded within the structures of the nation-state.
Reviews
‘The German nation-state was formed not in spite of German colonialism but because of it. This is the startling thesis of Leanza's A Nation Forged by Empire, an illuminating and provocative piece of historical sociology that will be debated for years to come.'
Julian Go - The University of Chicago
‘In this beautifully written book, Matthias Leanza shows how colonialism helped shape European nation-states as much as it affected the destinies of their colonies. In a detailed examination Leanza directs our attention to the relatively unnoticed ways in which colonialism influenced the evolution of political institutions in imperial Germany, driving greater centralization and a heightened sense of German national awareness. This impressive study will be the starting point for an extensive re-examination of the imperial origins of the nation-state, as well as a wider questioning of the hallowed distinction between empires and nation-states.'
Krishan Kumar - The University of Virginia
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