Through this evolution historians are able to learn about how politicians have used this concept of nationalism as a political tool, to achieve a certain aim. The clearest example of this is fascism; nationalism at the beginning of twentieth century converts from being a romantic theory that aimed to give self-determination to people, into a racist concept that claimed racial superiority over other nations. Furthermore, in a continent which even after the horror of the Holocaust has recently experienced ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, it is not surprising that nationalism still remains a topical issue within Europe that sustains the interest of historians. Moreover, the German and Italian question shows nationalism as a unifying factor, and not a disintegrating one, which was a common feature during the twentieth century and which still exists in places today like Chechnya.
Before explaining why Germany and Italy could claim to be a nation, the concept surrounding it must be defined. Historians are constantly assessing what is the correct term to use to define a nation, because unlike traditional concepts like freedom and democracy, the concept of a nation is relatively modern and thus does not have classical core texts which historians can study from. The definition of a nation tends to revolve around a community of people who can be defined by having the following characteristics in common: language, culture, ethnic background, history, religion and dynastic principles. However, historians seem to differ on how much of these common characteristics are needed to form a nation. For example, using ethnicity as a means to define a nation is problematic in Europe because of its extreme ethnic diversity. Moreover, historians argue as to whether a nation is real or imaginary or if it is a natural or artificial phenomenon. For example, the historian Gellner reveals the tenuous nature of defining a nation because people share the same culture or because two men of the same nation recognise this bond.
