Not all words in global politics are interchangeable. Say “Constitution” to an American and he or she will get misty-eyed. Say “Constitution” to someone from a European Union nation and he or she will see Red. Another case, say “nation of immigrants” to most Americans and they’ll wax romantic about Ellis Island the mythical melting pot, but say “Europe of Immigrants” to most people on the continent and they’ll paint a frightening portrait of borders flooded with non-white and more important non-Christian immigrants.
Just as the E.U. expands to the gates of Moscow, or at least the border of Russia, voters are rejecting the whole project of European Unity, fears of immigration turning a dream born out of the ashes of World War II into a nightmare of ethnic politics.
Guests:
Oguz Ucuncu, General Secretary of the Islamic Community, Milli Gorus in Germany
Niall Ferguson, Herzog Professor of Financial History at New York University and author of “Colossus:The Price of America’s Empire.”