Which scholar defined the nation as an "imagined political community"?

Benedict Anderson defined the nation as an "imagined political community" in his influential book "Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism." In this work, Anderson emphasizes that a nation is not just a physical entity or a defined territory but rather a constructed concept that exists in the minds of its members. He argues that people who will never meet or interact with each other can still feel a sense of connection and belonging due to shared experiences, culture, and history, which is facilitated by factors such as print capitalism and the rise of the modern state.

This concept highlights the importance of communal identity and the ways in which people view themselves as part of a larger collective, despite the geographic and temporal distances between them. Anderson's perspective has been pivotal in understanding nationalism as a socially constructed phenomenon, influencing a wide range of disciplines including sociology, political science, and cultural studies.

Other scholars mentioned, like Ernest Renan, focused on the idea of a nation being defined by a shared history and culture, but they did not encapsulate the idea of an "imagined" community in the same way Anderson did. Max Weber and Karl Marx also contributed to discussions on society and politics but from different angles, focusing on bureaucracy and