Three Encounters with Karl W. Deutsch

The author approaches the works of Karl W. Deutsch from the position of a historian and presents three aspects of his own encounters with Deutsch’s writings. First, he describes how he applied some of the methodological principles in Deutsch’s concept of nation-building to his own research work. Second, he presents his opinion on the place Deutsch occupies in the evolution of ‘theories of nationalism’. Third, he reflects on how Deutsch’s The Nerves of Government can serve as a source of inspiration in the present day, especially the parts of this work that deal with the risks for the collapse of political systems.