How do nations continue to be made on a daily basis? In this important contribution to nationalism studies, Dave Poitras explores how nationhood and the idea of living in a world of nations are experienced in the cities of Montreal and Brussels. Drawing on ethnographic research, he identifies three typical ways of enacting nationhood in workplaces, thereby capturing the various dynamics through which non-political actors "do nationhood". In particular, Dave Poitras examines the distinct mechanisms whereby nations are made and demonstrates how individuals' everyday activities legitimize Montreal's and Brussels's unique social constellation within their respective federal state.

Dave Poitras (Dr. phil.), born in 1985, obtained his PhD in sociology within the International Research Training Group "Diversity: Mediating Difference in Transcultural Spaces" at the University of Trier, Germany. His research project included several stays abroad at the collaborating Université de Montréal as well as in Brussels for fieldwork activities. His research interests are nationalism, everyday life, migration as well as diversity.