Nativism

AbstractThe world is facing multiple intersecting crises of political identity and belonging. This chapter opens by explaining how a number of current theoretical framings of these crises fail to capture their commonality: Islamophobia, racism, and populism. By way of an alternative, it then introduces the concept of nativism. It draws heavily on, but innovates beyond, the definition of nativism offered by John Higham. It explains how nativism was once perceived as having been defeated in liberal contexts but that, if it ever left, it has now well and truly returned to the center of political life. Liberalism, it turns out, is not a sufficient safeguard against nativism. Next, the chapter discusses why objectivist explanations for the return of nativism are, on their own, inadequate and why a cultural approach is required. It closes by offering a summary of each of the chapters to come.