The Perils of Identity Politics

Issue Date July 2004
Volume 15
Issue 3
Page Numbers 152-65
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Three leading French political thinkers reflect on why modern democracies tend to forget their own natures, even to the point of encouraging an assertive “identitarianism” that could undermine liberal democracy itself.

About the Authors

Marcel Gauchet

Marcel Gauchet is director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, editor of Le Débat, and author of La Démocratie contre elle-même (2002).

View all work by Marcel Gauchet

Pierre Manent

Pierre Manent is director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

View all work by Pierre Manent

Alain Finkielkraut

Alain Finkielkraut, the author of numerous books, hosts the discussion program on the France-Culture radio station.

View all work by Alain Finkielkraut

Further Reading

Volume 21, Issue 4

The Meanings of Democracy: What Arabs Think

Arabs express a clear preference for democracy, which they define in ways similar to citizens elsewhere in the world. But their authoritarian regimes are not listening.

Volume 16, Issue 1

The 2004 Freedom House Survey: Worrisome Signs, Modest Shifts

Modest progress in the muslim-majority countries is complemented by mass mobilization for democracy and freedom in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia ranks as Not Free for the first time since the fall…

Volume 9, Issue 2

What is Democratic Consolidation?

Read the full essay here.