Political Nationalism Smart Thinking Books
For the (Brexit) week that is in it, here is a selection of books to help you in asking "why?" in the context of political nationalism. First look at the histories of nations, check out some notes no nationalism, discover national populism, watch and learn how to lose a country and finally on Brexit, read about the heroic failure. Check out some short reviews of each below, combined with affiliate links to a number of online bookshops where you can buy each book.
Review from Book Depository:
National history is a vital part of national self-definition. Most books on the history of the world try to impose a uniform narrative, written usually from a single writer's point of view. Histories of Nations is different: it presents 28 essays written by a leading historian as a 'self-portrait' of his or her native country, defining the characteristics that embody its sense of nationhood. The countries have been selected to represent every continent and every type of state, large and small, and together they make up two-thirds of the world's population.
(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing) Review from Book Depository:
Biting and timeless reflections on patriotism, prejudice and power, from the man who wrote about his nation better than anyone.
(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing) Review from Book Depository:
A crucial new guide to one of the most urgent political phenomena of our time: the rise of national populism
(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing) An excellent comparison of the stages involved, tactics deployed and effects felt by the rise of populism in Turkey versus the current political establishments and campaigns in the US, UK and other Western countries. Temelkuran delivers her material using a mix of stark analysis and gut wrenching emotion, weaved together in a tapestry of wit and grave importance. A fantastic read. (All links earn commission from purchases that help fund this site. Prices accurate at time of writing) Review from Book Depository:
A fierce, mordantly funny and perceptive book about the act of national self-harm known as Brexit. A great democratic country tears itself apart, and engages in the dangerous pleasures of national masochism.
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Histories of Nations: How Their Identities Were Forged
They range from mature democracies to religious autocracies and one-party states, from countries with a venerable history to those who only came into being in the 20th century. In order to get to grips with the national and cultural differences that both enliven and endanger our world, we need above all to understand different national viewpoints - to read the always engaging and often passionate accounts given in this remarkable and unusual book. Original and thoughtprovoking, this is a crucial primer for the modern age.
Buy On:
Book Depository €7.69
Waterstones £9.99
Amazon UK £6.49
Amazon US $10.78
Notes on Nationalism
Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.
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Book Depository €2.95
Waterstones £1.00
Amazon UK £1.00
Amazon US $4.28
National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy
Across the West, there is a rising tide of people who feel excluded, alienated from mainstream politics, and increasingly hostile towards minorities, immigrants and neo-liberal economics. Many of these voters are turning to national populist movements, which have begun to change the face of Western liberal democracy, from the United States to France, Austria to the UK.
Written by two of the foremost experts on fascism and the rise of national populism, this lucid and deeply-researched book is a vital guide to our transformed political landscape. Challenging conventional wisdoms, Eatwell and Goodwin make a compelling case for serious, respectful engagement with the supporters and ideas of national populism - not least because it is a tide that won't be stemmed anytime soon.
Buy On:
Book Depository €8.16
Waterstones £9.99
Amazon UK £6.89
Amazon US $11.24
How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship
Buy On:
Book Depository €8.52
Waterstones £9.99
Amazon UK £7.19
Amazon US $12.77
Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain
Trivial journalistic lies became far from trivial national obsessions; the pose of indifference to truth and historical fact came to define the style of an entire political elite; a country that once had colonies redefined itself as an oppressed nation requiring liberation.
Fintan O'Toole also discusses the fatal attraction of heroic failure, once a self-deprecating cult in a hugely successful empire that could well afford the occasional disaster. Now failure is no longer heroic - it is just failure, and its terrible costs will be paid by the most vulnerable of Brexit's supporters.
Buy On:
Book Depository €8.53
Waterstones £7.99
Amazon UK £7.19
Amazon US $8.39
Image Copyrights: Thames & Hudson Ltd (Histories Of Nations), Penguin Books Ltd (Notes On Nationalism, National Populism), HarperCollins Publishers (How To Lose A Country), Head of Zeus (Heroic Failure)
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