This collection of essays examines how nationalism and religion are threatening democracy, the rule of the law, and freedom of expression throughout the world. It points to nations who, by tighteneing their borders to stem the tide of illegal immigrants, are abandoning their commitment to the international rights of man. Similarly, an unlikely alliance has been forged between the Vatican and the leaders of fundamentalist Islam in defence of a perceived threat to common traditional values. The essays show how the proponents of political correctness denigrate all developments in post-Enlightenment civilization as "elitist", leaving few reasonable political options.
Author Biography
Conor Cruise O'Brien is a distinguished statesman and writer. Over a long and varied career, he has served in the Irish external affairs office; was a member of the Irish delegation to the United Nations (at one point being seconded as a special assistant to UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold); was elected an Irish Labour Party parliamentarian, later serving in the cabinet; and was appointed editor-in-chief of the London Observer. A contributing editor to The Atlantic Monthly, O'Brien lectures around the world at leading unversities and writes weekly columns for The Independent in Britain and The Irish Independent. His many books include States of Ireland and The Great Melody: A Thematic Biography of Edmund Burke.
