Nationalism and patriotism are two of the most powerful forces shaping world history. Though seen by many as two sides of the same coin, they have developed widely different connotations. Nationalism is increasingly seen as destructive, and at the root of the world's bloodiest conflicts; patriotism seems something more benign, a political virtue.

How are we to mark the distinction between these two phenomena? How can we rescue patriotism from the tainted grasp of nationalism? Reconstructing the historical the meaning of the terms, Maurizio Viroli shows how the two concepts have been used within specific cultural and ideological contexts. He reviews the political though of Italy, England, and Germany and shows how patriotism and nationalism have fundamentally different roots.

Professor Viroli concludes that it is morally unacceptable, and indeed unnecessary, to be a nationalist to defend the values that nationalists hold dear. Patriotism, however, is a valuable source of civic responsibility.