Nations Without Nationalism - Hardcover

Kristeva, Julia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231081049 ISBN 13: 9780231081047

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 1993

Synopsis

Underlying 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.

About this title

Book Description:

Kristeva points to Montesquieu's esprit général―his notion of the social body as a guaranteed hierarchy of private rights―in this humanistic plea for tolerance and commonality.

About the Author:

Julia Kristeva, internationally known psychoanalyst and critic, is Professor of Linguistics at the University de Paris VII. She has hosted a French television series and is the author of many critically acclaimed books published by Columbia University Press in translation, including Time and Sense: Proust and the Experience of Literature and the novel, Possessions.

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0231081049
• ISBN 13: 9780231081047
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 108