https://at-ceu.studyguide.timeedit.net/modules/INTR5010?type=COREToday, nationalism remains a powerful force - deployed by both liberal reformers and illiberal regimes, domestically and transnationally. This course examines how national identities are constructed, contested, and instrumentalized across regimes and countries, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe. The region offers a unique vantage point for understanding nationalism in both theory and practice. Shaped by the legacies of multiethnic empires, the traumas of war and socialism, and the complex aftermath of state disintegration, it has witnessed successive waves of nation-building, ethnic conflict, and identity-based mobilization.The course introduces students to foundational theories of nationalism - primordialist, modernist, and ethno-symbolist - and situates them within the region's diverse historical and political contexts. Through a combination of thematic and case-based sessions, we explore key phenomena such as ethnic categorization, secession, memory politics, and the role of international actors in managing diversity and conflict. Special attention is given to contemporary developments, including the rise of illiberal nationalism, populist governance, and symbolic battles over history and identity. While rooted in the Eastern European experience, the course encourages broader comparative reflection and equips students with the analytical tools to critically engage with nationalism as a dynamic and often polarizing political force.