Elie Kedouri - the unknown classic of nationalism studies

Elie Kedourie is one of the patriarchs of nationalism studies. It was he who proposed a number of ideas that later became the background in the study of this phenomenon. In the West, the name of Kedourie is so significant that he is sometimes placed next to the recognized master of political philosophy Isaiah Berlin. It should be noted that his interest in nationalism was at the same time personal. Being a Jew, he was met with Arab nationalism from an early age and was forced to flee Baghdad, where he lived with his family. His youth experiences forced him to turn to the study of nationalism and propose a number of ideas that are still in demand today. In particular, they involve the interpretation of nationalism as a civil religion, an attempt to discover the philosophical foundations of nationalism.