Why Nationalism

by Yael Tamir

Overview

The surprising case for liberal nationalism

Around the world today, nationalism is back—and it’s often deeply troubling. Populist politicians exploit nationalism for authoritarian, chauvinistic, racist, and xenophobic purposes, reinforcing the view that it is fundamentally reactionary and antidemocratic. But Yael (Yuli) Tamir makes a passionate argument for a very different kind of nationalism—one that revives its participatory, creative, and egalitarian virtues, answers many of the problems caused by neoliberalism and hyperglobalism, and is essential to democracy at its best. In Why Nationalism, she explains why it is more important than ever for the Left to recognize these positive qualities of nationalism, to reclaim it from right-wing extremists, and to redirect its power to progressive ends. Provocative and hopeful, Why Nationalism is a timely and essential rethinking of a defining feature of our politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691210780
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	11/03/2020
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Yael (Yuli) Tamir is president of Shenkar College of Engineering and Design and adjunct professor at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. The author of Liberal Nationalism (Princeton), she is a former Israeli legislator and cabinet minister and a founder of the Israeli peace movement.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition ix

Foreword Dani Rodrik xxxvii

A Personal Note xli

Part I The Return of History

1 The New Nationalism 3

2 Never Say Never 13

3 Untidy Compromises 22

4 The Two Faces of Janus 26

5 Nutopia 33

Part II Love and Marriage: The Virtues of Nationalism

6 Living beyond Our Psychological Means 43

7 Nation Building 52

8 National Creativity 61

9 This Place We Call Home 68

10 La Vie Quotidian 72

11 Subjects into Citizens 77

12 A Short History of the Cross-Class Coalition 85

Part III A Divided House

13 The Breakdown of the Cross-Class Coalition 93

14 One Nation, Divided, under Stress 102

15 The Elephant in the Room 108

16 The Birth of a Nationalist 119

17 The Nationalism of the Vulnerable 127

18 The Nationalism of the Affluent 142

Part IV A New Social Contract

19 Liberal Nationalism 155

20 This Is the Time 166

21 A Race to the Bottom 172

Notes 183

Index 199

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“[Tamir] pits nationalism against globalism and finds the former preferable.... Not a defense of Trumpian politics but a measured explanation of why the American populace was so receptive to both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.”—Kirkus

“A book for our times, Why Nationalism is carefully argued and fiercely written. Yael Tamir provides an original and incisive account of the ‘nationalism of the vulnerable’—the people who are being left behind—expressing a sympathy that is often missing among liberal writers.”—Michael Walzer, author of A Foreign Policy for the Left

“With clarity and insight, Why Nationalism describes the challenges posed by the recent turn to populist nationalism in Western liberal democracies. Yael Tamir brings a better and more thoughtful understanding of nationalism to bear on this hot topic than most other contributors. This is a useful book for readers perplexed by contemporary politics and looking for a guide.”—Bernard Yack, Brandeis University

Editorial Reviews

"Interesting and provocative. . . . Highly ambitious."—-Jonathan Derbyshire, Financial Times

"Tamir’s work makes an important contribution by forcing us to recognize that national feeling, however defined, isn’t going away. Her argument is that the resurgence in nationalism derives in part from a reaction against an economic structure whose benefits flow mostly to those at the top, those who have rejected any responsibility for helping their fellow members of the national community. That is an argument progressives can and should incorporate into their presentation. But we can’t do that if we reject the very idea of a national community, what Tamir defines as the ‘political we.’"—-Ian Reifowitz, Daily Kos

"Progressives are getting nostalgic for nationalism. . . . Why Nationalism is an important contribution to this growing literature. Yael Tamir elegantly recounts nationalism’s virtues."—-Peter Spiro, Lawfare

"[Tamir] courageously defends moderate and universal nationalist outlooks, masterfully distinguishes between these and the murky populist wave washing over societies worldwide and endangering the Western democratic order . . . . [Why Nationalism] is outstanding in that it combines her background as a political philosopher with her many years of hands-on political experience, something that can’t be said of many scholars in the West who are now focusing on these issues."—-Shlomo Avineri, Haaretz

"Free-market libertarians and social democrats both have lots to learn from this measured and thoughtful book."—-David Conway, Jewish Chronicle

From the Publisher