Belonging

<p> A well-written and wide-ranging overview of manyimportant ideas about belonging. Journal of Social Policy <p> A thought-provoking book on fundamentally importantissues. Sociology A rich, sound and consistent book within the classical politicalscience tradition. Journal of Catalan Intellectual History In Belonging Professor Guibernau skilfully deconstructs themany differing elements that determine the individual sidentity. In a world where conflicting trends, tendencies andtensions compete to define us, it is a timely analysis of theincreasing complexities influencing much of the contemporary humanpredicament. It will become a standard work on the subject. Lord Smith of Clifton Montserrat Guibernau reformulates the concept of belongingthrough an in-depth exploration of mechanisms of solidarity andpsychological connections between citizens and communities. Theauthor takes us beyond debates on national identity and nationalismby deepening our understanding of loyalty, freedom and trust -three dimensions that have been neglected for too long by socialscientists and political authorities - in divided polities. Thisbook is theorerically rich and highly accessible. Alain Gagnon, Universite du Quebec aMontreal How to define and interpret the relationship between theindividual and community? Guibernau demonstrates possibilities ofnew understanding of this almost secular problem by introducing thenewly defined term belonging in mutual tension with identificationand nationalism. Theoretical reflections are connected withpressing political problems of our times. This approach isrich on inspiration and intellectual challenge for all socialsciences. Miroslav Hroch, Charles University, Prague