In this powerful and provocative book, Prasenjit Duara uses the intriguing case of Manchukuo--the Japanese puppet state in northeast China from 1932-1945--to explore how such antinomies as imperialism and nationalism, modernity and tradition, and governmentality and exploitation interacted in the post-World War I period. He argues that Manchukuo, as a transparently constructed nation-state, offers a unique historical laboratory for examining the utilization and transformation of circulating global forces mediated by the East Asian modern. With its sweepingly original theoretical and comparative perspectives on nationalism and imperialism, this book will be essential reading for all those interested in contemporary history.