The Power of Liberal Nationalism

Diversity poses no threat to democracy. What does imperil democracy are demagogues who deprive minorities of rights and claim that vesting themselves with extraordinary powers is vital to guarding the ethnic majority against the purported predations of minorities and immigrants. Virtually everywhere such demagogues have gained the upper hand. Moreover, they have claimed superiority as patriots and protectors of the nation. Democracy's liberal defenders have often neglected the power of nationalism, regarding it as an unsavory atavism. If they are to successfully defend democracy in multiethnic societies, liberals must stop conflating nationalism with nativism and ethnonationalism, seize the flag, and arm themselves with emotionally compelling national-democratic narratives that appeal more widely than the biased tales spun by the illiberal foes of free government.