Missionary Politics in Contemporary Europe

Cloth $34.95s    |    978-0-8156-3149-1    |    2007

Examines the religious dimension of right-wing nationalist movements.

Reviews
"[José Pedro Zúquete] sheds much-needed light on the unexpected appearance of charismatic political movements in modern Europe. . . . This book is required reading for anyone who wants to understand the political climate of our time."
— Charles Lindholm, professor of anthropology, Boston University

Description
While Western Europe is widely considered to be the most secularized region of the world, José Pedro Zúquete asserts that, in certain cases, intense religion has manifested itself outside the church through political channels. The sacralization of politics is commonly studied in terms of movements and regimes of the past. Offering an innovative political analysis, Zúquete focuses on contemporary movements, developing the term "missionary politics."

The author focuses on Umberto Bossi’s Northern League in Italy and Jean-Marie Le Pen’s National Front in France, assessing the literature, rhetoric, imagery, and patterns of charismatic control of these movements. Drawing upon interviews, extensive fieldwork, and abundant primary sources, Zúquete identifies the ways in which these political movements provide members with a sense that the nation is sacred and that its people have been divinely chosen.

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Author
José Pedro Zúquete is a postdoctoral fellow at the Minda de Gunzberg Center for European Studies at Harvard University. He has published numerous articles on modernism, fascism, and contemporary populist movements.

6 x 9, 296 pages, glossary, notes, bibliography, index