Abstract
Victory of liberal USA over Communist USSR, following the end of the Cold War, fostered a plurality of human identities and associations. That seemed to herald the realization of a promising new age of rational-democratic pluralism, either within the framework of the nation-state or transcending it. However, the march of pluralism not only stalled but also reversed into exclusionary right-wing nationalism. This shift is attributed to global structural changes that drive ideational trends.
The post-Cold War global order crowned liberal pluralism; however, 9/11 and the discourse of the 'War on Terror' reinvigorated existing undercurrents of religious-civilizational discourse. The global financial crisis of 2008, coupled with relative changes in global economic relations, enhanced the perceived civilizational appeal of emerging economies at the expense of liberalism. Finally, the relative decline and disengagement of the USA disrupted the institutionalized liberal structure, paving the way for exclusionary right-wing nationalism.