A specter haunts much of today's world—the specter of nationalism. Key institutions upholding the post-Cold War order of liberal internationalism and globalization have joined in a progressive alliance to exorcise what they see as a malign spirit from a discredited past. Where is the opposition party or popular movement that has not been decried as nationalist by elite incumbents? Where is the centrist who has not hurled back the branding reproach of nationalism against more conservative rivals along with an older, political left grounded in loyalties forged among working class communities now in decline? Already recognized as a rising force, nationalists should declare their aims and meet the strawman of this specter their opponents raise with a clear defense of nationalism.
The outrage across Europe and North America prompted by nationalist movements and events from the Brexit vote to Donald Trump's election makes parodying the Communist Manifesto's preamble an evocative opening to discuss what nationalism means. It captures the alarm raised by disparate movements directly challenging some cherished certainties. The success of those movements in Poland, Hungary, and the United States and the considerable support they have drawn elsewhere indicates seismic changes that require explanation. Determining what nationalism means and why it appeals to so many people in very different contexts seems a logical first step in that inquiry, but rarely do commentators in current debates take it. Instead, as George Orwell said of fascism in an earlier generation, nationalism becomes a way of saying “I don't like you.” But, however phrased, such dismissals obscure phenomena that need elucidation.
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