Modernization theory is the predominant explanation for the emergence of nationalism among scholars of nationalism.[1][2][3] Prominent modernization scholars, such as Benedict Anderson, Ernest Gellner and Eric Hobsbawm, say nationalism arose with modernization during the late 18th century.[4] Processes that lead to the emergence of nationalism include industrialization and democratic revolutions.[1]
Modernization theory stands in contrast to primordialism, which hold that nations are biological, innate phenomena, and ethnosymbolism, which emphasizes their pre-modern roots.