Why nationalism

Brexit and the election of Donald Trump has inspired writers from the Left and Right to praise and denounce nationalism. This book, written by a left-leaning academic who has served in two Israeli governments, offers high praise for nationalism. Tamir courageously calls for her fellow liberal democrats to reconsider their disdain for the nation-state and to eschew globalism. They "must learn to harness nationalism to their cause." She describes the history of nationalism, including the ways that modern states consolidated diverse peoples and united classes into particular nationalities by means of state-funded education and the formation of a common national narrative. The elite today, she argues, must unite around a similar program of nation-building that forms and instrumentalizes the nation to achieve democratic stability and economic justice. She unreservedly affirms that this involves elite-led mythmaking, "deliberate forgetfulness and misrepresentation of historical facts," and the making and remaking of national narratives. Tamir's honesty on the elites' role in making nationalism work is commendable. Though some crucial assertions in the book lack sufficient evidence, it is a thought-provoking and timely work that will challenge both the Right and the Left. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Stephen Wolfe, Louisiana State University

A scholar pits nationalism against globalism and finds the former preferable.Where so many political analysts have seen the rise of Donald Trump and the Brexit decision as irrational offenses against the democratic process, former Knesset member Tamir (President/Shenkar Coll. of Engineering and Design; Liberal Nationalism, 1995, etc.) maintains otherwise. "The crystallization of the vulnerable into an identity group went unnoticed until the liberal progressive camp started losing one election after another," she writes. "This wasn't, as many assumed, a moment of democratic crisis but of democratic victorybecause certain social trends that had previously been silenced suddenly got a voice." The author laments the impression that too often that voice has been extremist and xenophobic, but she believes that those ill-served by liberal multiculturalism and the factionalism of identity politics have made a rational choice in their own best interests rather than been swayed by demagoguery. She convincingly argues that globalism benefits the rich, who already have wealth and power and resources, while undermining the many. So, why nationalism? Because it provides a cultural identity, makes one a part of something bigger than oneself, and confers a kind of immortality in the form of continuity. Because it provides a unifying narrative as well as a system of public education that reinforces the shared values of the unifying narrative. Addressing the times when academic institutions sought to "remake the national narrative," the author writes, "national unity was eroded and pluralism replaced the melting pot' policy." She continues, "the newly established harmony turned into cacophony." Tamir castigates extremists on both the left and right, arguing that compromises reflecting the majority voice, without demonizing minorities, is the only path forward. She believes that political discourse must "move beyond the patronizing ways in which the masses are perceived." Yet she makes it possible to appreciate her comparatively calm call to reason without becoming persuaded that the resurgence of nationalism is where reason lies.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. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.