Nation-Building. Primordialism

Nation-Building: Primordialism
Steven Grosby (1995), ‘primordial’ refers to the ‘significance of vitality which man attributes to nativity’, including lineage, family, and, most importantly, territory.
Ethnicity is ‘deeply ingrained in human history and experience’ (Wolff 2006, p. 33).
Nation is viewed as an extended family
Primordialists: Clifford Geertz, Harold Isaacs, Walker Connor

Constructivists
Ethnicity is socially and politically constructed over time
Ethnicity is ‘foremost a resource in the hands of leaders to mobilize followers in the pursuit of other interests’ (Wolff 2006, p. 33).
Nation is viewed as an ‘imagined political community’ (Anderson, 2006)
Constuctivists: Benedict Anderson, Ernest Gellner, Donald Horowitz, Eric Hobsbawm,