Nations Without NationalismUnderlying Julia Kristeva's latest work is the idea that otherness - whether it be ethnic, religious, social, or political - needs to be understood and accepted in order to guarantee social harmony. Nations Without Nationalism is an impassioned plea for tolerance and for commonality, aimed at a world brimming over with racism and xenophobia. Responding to the rise of neo-Nazi groups in Germany and Eastern Europe and the continued popularity of the National Front in France, Kristeva turns to the origins of the nation-state to illustrate the problematic nature of nationalism and its complex configurations in subsequent centuries. For Kristeva, the key to commonality can be found in Montesquieu's esprit general - his notion of the social body as a guaranteed hierarchy of private rights. Nations Without Nationalism also contains Kristeva's thoughts on Harlem Desir, the founder of the antiracist organization SOS Racisme; the links between psychoanalysis and nationalism; the historical nature of French national identity; the relationship between esprit general and Volksgeist; Charles de Gaulle's complex ideas involving the "nation" and his dream of a unified Europe. In the tradition of Strangers to Ourselves, her most recent nonfiction work, Nations Without Nationalism reflects a passionate commitment to enlightenment and social justice. As ethnic strife persists in Europe and the United States, Kristeva's humanistic message carries with it a special resonance and urgency. |
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abstract Alain Alain Finkielkraut American Arendt assertion called century citizens concept concerned Connétable contemporary cosmopolitan cultural Dalloway Danaides Diderot economic ego ideal Enlightenment esprit général essay ethnic Europe European fashion favor fiction foreigners France French national idea Freud Freudian Gaulle German give Greek Hannah Arendt Harlem Désir hatred human humiliated iden identity immigration individuals integrated intellectual Jewish Jews Joëlle Julia Kristeva Julien Dray language linguistic literature living logic Louis Althusser Mandarins means Mediterranean Melanie Klein memory ment Montesquieu Muslim narcissistic narrative National Front nationalist Nations Without Nationalism ness nevertheless novel Œuvres complètes Olga one's origins Paris political thought polyphonic proxeny Psychoanalysis Racisme reality reject religion religious respect Robert Aron Roland Castro Ruth Samurai scious sexual social Stoic strangeness Strangers to Ourselves superego symbolic tion tional tradition transitional translated uncon values Volksgeist women words writing