The rise of rightwing populism has brought into question prevailing assumptions in social science about multicultural Europe. In this compelling study of populist politics, Mabel Berezin argues that the emergence of the movement in the 1990s was a historical surprise rather than an expected event. She questions whether rightwing populism would exist in the absence of the Maastricht Treaty and the subsequent intensification of cultural and economic Europeanization. Using an innovative methodology, Berezin analyzes the French National Front in relation to the broader context of Europeanization and globalization. She unpacks the political and cultural processes that evoke the thin commitments characterizing citizen support, and shows that we cannot make sense of rightwing populism without considering the historical legacies and practices, both national and international, within which it arises. This book makes a novel argument about the relationship between democracy and political and social security.
Author: Mabel Berezin Publisher: Cambridge University Press Published: 04/01/2009 Pages: 324 Binding Type: Paperback Weight: 1.15lbs Size: 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.90d ISBN: 9780521547840
Review Citation(s): Choice 04/01/2010
About the Author Berezin, Mabel: - Mabel Berezin is Associate Professor of Sociology at Cornell University. She is the author of Making the Fascist Self: The Political Culture of Inter-war Italy (1997) which was awarded the J. David Greenstone Prize for Best Book of 1996-1997 in Politics and History by the American Political Science Association and named an Outstanding Academic Book of 1997 by Choice. She is also co-editor of Europe Without Borders (2003) and has written numerous articles on European politics, culture and history.