Imagined Communities: Reflections On The Origin And Spread Of Nationalism

Anderson defines the nation as an “imagined community.” What does he mean by this, and in what ways is it imagined? How is national solidarity imaginarily achieved?

In the second chapter, Anderson writes that, “No more arresting emblems of the modern culture of nationalism exist than cenotaphs and tombs of Unknown Soldiers” (9). Why is this so? What is the cultural significance of these monuments as symbols of nationalism?

How is nationalism similar—and dissimilar—to earlier political systems, such as the religious communities of the Middle Ages and the dynastic monarchies of Europe?