First published in 1997, this volume responds to the issue that identity can no longer be taken for granted, and features contributions from experts in politics, history and social theory on the concepts of identity politics and selfhood in cultures around the world. Stemming from the work of Erik Erikson, on the concept of identity, these articles expand to include Islam, Japan, India and America, along with a contemplation of international ideas of national sovereignty. They argue as a whole against notions of a growing global homogeneity of identity and against an 'end to history'.