Why Older Voters Are Prone to Nationalism

Nostalgia, Risk Aversion, and Economic Priorities Foster Parochial Loyalties Among the Elderly

Just a few decades into the latest wave of globalization, the “nation-state” is striking back with a vengeance. From the United States and the Russian Federation, to Hungary, the Philippines, Poland, Turkey, the U.K., and elsewhere, an emerging class of politicians is setting out to make their countries “great” again. Their resentment of multilateral, globalist institutions is loud, and they make no accommodation for others whose patriotism is seen to be deficient.

Nation-centric programs have gained considerable support recently, particularly from older people. In the United States, in election after …

By Harun Onder | May 4, 2018

The Origins of Burma’s Old and Dangerous Hatred

A Nationalist Strain of Buddhism Has Unleashed Violence Against a Muslim Minority

By Michael Jerryson | November 8, 2017

In a recent interview with a Guardian journalist, the Burmese monk U Rarzar expressed his country’s rationale for fearing and repressing its Muslim minority. “[The] Ma Ba Tha is protecting …

What Losing a War Does to a Nation’s Psyche

70 Years After World War II, Japanese Elites Are Still Haunted by Despair and Shame

By Edgar A. Porter | October 17, 2017

In the spring of 1976, while visiting the Tokyo Zoo, I was confronted with the unforgettable sight of an aging former Japanese soldier, wearing a ragged army uniform and cap, …

Can Philosophy Unite a Divided World?

Through the Language of Ideas, We Can Understand and Embrace New Morals and Concepts

By Anthony Pagden | November 28, 2016

As a scholar of the history of ideas, I’m interested in the debates pitting cosmopolitanism against nationalism. Roughly speaking, cosmopolitans believe that we can create spaces where people of different …

California’s Not Built to Become Its Own Nation

#Calexit Distracts From the State’s Golden Opportunity to Counter American Nationalism

By Joe Mathews | November 24, 2016

California may have the size and economy and independent spirit of a good-sized country. But California is not a nation. Which is precisely why it would be so self-destructive to …

The Shame of Living in an Authoritarian Democracy

In Hungary, Nationalist Politicians Help Themselves (and Their Lovers) to the Spoils of Power

By Csaba Madarasz | October 31, 2016

I was a young man studying journalism when conversation about the first Fidesz government in Hungary broke into our dining room. It ended with a dead political silence in my …

The Philosopher Who Coined the Term ‘Nationalism’ Also Preached Inclusivity

275 Years Ago, Johann Gottfried Herder Imagined Nations Forming Around a Common Language and Culture, Not a Common Enemy

Why the ‘New Nationalism’ Can Only Flourish in Conflict

Built on Hatred, and the Need for an Adversary, It Thrives on Contempt for Other Cultures, Religions, and Even Languages

How Globalization Engenders Ethno-Religious Nationalism

From Myanmar to the United States, Growing Transnationalism Is Weakening Secular States While Driving the Spread of Ideology

Here Are Two Voting Reforms That Could Counter America’s Hyperpolarization

When Used Together, ‘Ranked Choice’ and ‘Top Two’ Elections Would Strengthen Major Parties and Favor Moderate Politicians

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