Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Defending Democracy

If the history of the twentieth century can be seen as a successful struggle to expand personal freedoms, then the history of the twenty-first century will be seen as a contest to assert cultural, ethnic, or religious identities. From the crisis in Europe where identity is seen as inimical to democratic freedoms, to the threats to identity posed by postmodern relativism and Marxism, to the corrosive dullness of identity-less cosmopolitanism, Sharansky conducts a philosophical tour of nations, regions and cities whose futures rest precariously on the struggle for identity. His purpose throughout is to recover this most valuable and essential political emotion, one that can reaffirm and underpin democratic societies. Together, identity and democracy assert a powerful and benign sense of purpose; divided, at odds with each other, they invite fundamentalism and rootlessness.