The first globalisation coincided with the consecration of the nation as the legitimate foundation for political sovereignty. Globalisation and the expansion of the Nation-State in fact emerge out of the same ideological, technological and economic developments. The nation is a new form of universalism, which translates into the formation of distinct but relatively similar cultural and political units. The formation of Nation-States took place against a transnational background, but rapidly raised the issue of its international dimension. This involves the organisation of relations between Nation-States, but also the unity of social categories beyond national frontiers. 19th century Europe comforted its hegemonic position in the first globalisation by instituting itself as the major pole of modern universalism, as the locus for the institutionalisation of its political and cultural norms, and as the heart of any contestation against them.