‘Counter-Jihad’ Fake Nationalism

Every nation bears in itself the standard of its perfection, totally independent of all comparison with that of others.

The Nation has an interesting article by Thomas Hegghammer about the rise of what it calls “macro-nationalists,” that is people who support what is purportedly a traditionalist or Right-wing ideology which is not based on traditional national, ethnic or tribal identities. This ideology ignores the primary elements of kith, kin, culture and soil. Rather, “macro-nationalists” look to broad definitions of civilisations and see these as competing with one another in a violent struggle for supremacy and survival. The confessed Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik advocated this sort of ideology. It is also advocated by many Neo-cons in the United States who want a global war with “radical Islam” (or if they are more honest with just Islam in general) in a mass “clash of civilisations.”…Mr Breivik’s worldview does not fit squarely into any of the established categories of right-wing ideology, like white supremacism, ultranationalism or Christian fundamentalism. Rather, it reveals a new doctrine of civilisational war that represents the closest thing yet to a Christian version of Al-Qaeda.

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2011-08-16