But it also underwrote the sense of shared destiny necessary to construct some of the most mature egalitarian and democratic successes in the post-World War II decades. The 20th century saw some of its worst nightmares when nationalism went awry. One of the great achievements of the emergence of national identity in 19th century Europe was that it allowed dispersed regions and principalities to replace local and religious identities for the newly emerging idea of a democratic state, subject to the rule of law, and respecting civil and political rights, initially, and later economic and social rights as well.

Let me start, though, with what I see as the origin of democratic crisis. Is there anything that an alliance of cities can do to push back against this threat to democracy? I will argue here that yes, there is such a path: because they are closer to citizens than national or regional governments, cities can adopt practices that will engage residents in communities of practice, building on making, doing, and sharing together as a base of identity that can provide real sense of belonging rather than the imagined community of ethno-national identity. We have seen alliances of cities seek to cooperate in the face of another global challenge-the climate crisis. The diversity of countries in which ethno-national populism is rising forces us to recognize that part of the problem is that for many, pluralism and an open, diverse, cosmopolitan society offers too little by way of a sense of identity and shared fate.

But we see nationalist populism gaining substantial support even in richer social democracies like Denmark or Sweden. In many places, economic insecurity underlies the desire for easy ‘us against them’ stories. From Brazil to the Philippines and from Hungary to the Unites States of America voters are turning to authoritarian figures stoking fear and hatred to offer their adherents a sense of identity and self-empowerment. Cities can adopt practices that will engage residents in communities of practice, building on making, doing, and sharing together as a base of identity that can provide real sense of belonging.ĭemocratic market society is in crisis.

Imagined communities