The Revenge of Nationalism

• Neopopulists and xenophobes invading Europe
• Pierre-André Taguieff

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What if behind the "wave of populism" in Europe there was a powerful nationalist wave hiding? Over the past three decades, nationalist and identity-based mobilisations have given rise to disturbing and now firmly established political formations. Pierre-André Taguieff does not see in them the expression of a "populist fever" or the indication of a "return of fascism", but rather the emergence of a new type of challenge to a representative and pluralistic democracy. This national-populist wave has become radicalized under the combined effects of a virulent opposition to the european integrations, a growing demonization of immigration and an obsession with "Islamization". There is also a deep mistrust in globalization, of which the transnational elites would be the agents and the only beneficiaries.

This cluster of fears, hostilities and rejections explains why the main theme of the nationalist discourse today is that of the threatened collective identity. Its symbolic effectiveness, translated by impressive electoral scores, stems from the triple fact that the nation-state is in crisis, that representative systems are producing increasing dissatisfaction, and that in public opinion, Islam is a threat.
It is not the least of the paradoxes of these nationalist and xenophobic parties that they are going to the assault of a Europe whose construction process they are challenging.

In the book The Revenge of Nationalism, Taguieff criticizes and proposes a rejection od 'heavy words' in the foundations of political programs, particularly pointing out the terms which were in time emptied of their meaning: "Populism", "Extreme right" and "Fascism." Book after book, Pierre-André Taguieff continues to work on deciphering the various concepts of political thought.

• ISBN: 978-953-8075-25-4
• Dimensions: 110x190 mm
• Number of pages: 276
• Cover: paperback
• Year of the edition: 2017
• Original title: La revanche du nationalisme. Néopopulistes et xénophobes à l'assaut de l'Europe
• Original language: French
• Translation: Vanda Kušpilić and Jelena Butković