The Interpreters

The book offers a new interpretation of the cultural and intellectual exchanges between Britain and southeastern Europe in an age of imperial transformation. It considers systematically the question of the management of ethnic difference in multinational imperial states as diverse as Britain, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. It traces the regional experiences and impact of British scholars and public intellectuals steering through competing nationalisms and translating regional national questions to British and international audiences. The emphasis on past attempts to reconcile liberal democracy and nationalism with imperial rule continues to resonate in our day as intellectuals confront the challenges presented the rise of ethno-nationalist politics and shifting place of Britain in Europe.