Integration and Fragmentation: The Paradox of the Late Twentieth Century

Pradip Sarbadhikari is a professor of political science at Lakehead
University in Thunder Bay.

The four lectures in this monograph, all by political scientists,
explain in lucid terms the causal or inverse relationship between
nationalism and integration—a relationship particularly pertinent to
Canada’s economic integration with the United States and global
linkages with Pacific states on the one hand, and the resurgence of
Quebec nationalism (and demands for aboriginal self-government) on the
other.

Murray Forsyth discusses the relationship between liberalism and
nationalism, and how multinational federations can prevent secession.
Jane Jenson explains “how in the context of globalization, Quebec,
English Canada and Aboriginal People are reinventing their national
identities.” John Kincaid offers both a topography of integration and
fragmentation in the contemporary world, and a typology of the forms of
integration available to states caught between globalization and
nationalist fragmentation. The final author, Kenneth Minogue, suggests
(as Gary La Forest notes in the introduction) “that the real paradox
resides in the ingratitude of citizens toward modern states, precisely
at a time when those states have become much more generous and gentle
with their populations.”

Despite its limited perspective, this monograph is a welcome addition
to the literature on nationalism and integration.