Anthony David Stephen Smith[1] (23 September 1939 – 19 July 2016) was a British historical sociologist who, at the time of his death, was Professor Emeritus of Nationalism and Ethnicity at the London School of Economics.
These tragic events had a profound impact on Smith and shaped his interest in Jewish history and the existence of nations since ancient times.
He also developed academic programs for undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students, focusing on nationalism theories and comparative studies.
Additionally, he co-founded the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN) with his PhD students, creating a platform for research in this field.
Moreover, Smith reasons that nationalistic interpretations of the past are frequently fabricated to justify modern political and ethnic positions.
[8] Smith defines nationalism as "an ideological movement for attaining and maintaining autonomy, unity and identity on behalf of a population deemed by some of its members to constitute an actual or potential 'nation'".
Nations are the result of a triple revolution that begins with the development of capitalism and leads to a bureaucratic and cultural centralisation along with a loss of power by the Church.
This scored an early success, arising from its petition to Parliament and its lobbying and representation in the House of Lords, in an amendment to the Education Reform Act 1988 guaranteeing freedom of expression and publication to academic staff in the older universities.
[15] The Council continued its interactions with Government [16] and its organisation of symposia on academic independence into the early years of the millennium.