Peter Krause's book explains why some national movements have independent states today, like the Israelis and Algerians, while others, like the Kurds and Palestinians, do not. He also provides an original argument for the causes of terrorism, arguing that groups opt for violence or nonviolence based on their relative position of power within their national movement. In addition to this powerful new argument, the book includes chapters on the history of the Palestinian, Zionist, Algerian, and Irish national movements based on years of fieldwork in archives across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, as well as more than 150 interviews with participants in each of the four national movements.