Diaspora , Intellectuals , and the State

NO AREA OF PUBLIC CONSCIENCE ILLUST"TES THE ANXIOUS MEETING of state policy and cultural mythology more than illegal immigration. As once-con#dent national polities in Europe and the United States su$er a series of economic shocks, a backlash has gathered momentum, targeting the imported labor that in many ways symbolizes the so% core of the old regimes’ economic foundations. A variety of extremist political actors have sprung up to declare an invasion of immigrants corrupting the homeland. Umberto Bossi in Italy, Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands, Pia Kjaersgaard in Denmark, and Nick Gri&n in Britain are not simply the latest prophets of social fear but key players in well-funded electoral parties. 'ey have added their names to the list of be!er-known #gures in the annals of European xenophobia such as Jörg Haider in Austria and Jean-Marie le Pen in France and made signi#cant inroads in their respective parliaments and city halls. 'e resurgence takes place at the very moment that the European Economic Community is ra!led by a series of debt crises, and as conservatives in Italy, France, and, above all, Germany make a bid to rewrite Europe’s long-standing social democratic pact by way of punishing austerity measures. 'e climate of extremes sets the stage for a ramped-up rhetoric against various enemies within.