Nationalism and patriotism are two of the most powerful forces shaping world history. In this paperback edition of a highly successful, wide-ranging study, Maurizio Viroli shows exactly why patriotism is a political virtue and nationalism a political vice.

`We are all in debt to Viroli for his sympathetic and acute dissection of the patriot tradition, and his thought-provoking reflections on our political shortcomings.' Times Higher Education Supplement `This is an excellent book and it is very timely. Maurizio Viroli's proposal to reclaim the language of republican patriotism is not only an important contribution to the discussion around the issue of nationalism. It is also a crucial intervention in the current debate about the need for 'community' and 'civic virtue'.' Chantal Mouffe, University of Westminster, Political Studies, Vol. 45, No.1, March '97 `a substantial and stimulating contribution to the burgeoning literature on the republican tradition in political thought' Alan Patten, University of Exeter, History of Political Thought, Volume XVIII, Issue 1, Spring 1997 `This book is a learned political sermon ... This study is conducted in an erudite manner ... The great richness of material convincingly establishes that there was a passionate rhetoric of patriotism of the kind Viroli commends.' John Breuilly, University of Birmingham, Nations and Natioalism, Vol. 3, Part 1 - 1997 `The students of patriotic emotions and arguments will find in Viroli's book many quotations and discussions of well known and lesser known thinkers on the topic ...' Jean Tournon, Nationalism and Ethic Politics vol.3 no.1,1997 Viroli's account of the relationship of such key figures as Rousseau, Herder, and Mazzini to nationalist and liberal thought is importan. Viroli's immersion of Rousseau in the tradition of civic republicanism adds powerfully to a growing chorus in Rousseau's defence against charges of totalitarianism. - Dr J Stapleton. British Journal of Politics and International Relations. April 1999.