Anthony D. Smith on nations and national identity: a critical assessment

This paper offers a critical assessment of Anthony D. Smith's classical definition of the nation. In so doing, it argues that Smith fails to establish a clear‐cut distinction between the concept of nation and state, since he attributes to the nation some of the features of the state, for instance the sharing of legal rights and duties among all its members. In addition, Smith's definition neglects the existence of nations without states. The paper offers a detailed examination of Smith's definition of the nation and the possible reasons why he has decided to introduce some fundamental changes into it in his most recent work. The paper then moves on to consider Smith's definition of national identity and to offer an alternative to it by including a reflection of how national identity is constructed in the global era.