Europe’s Illiberal Identity Crisis

In the aftermath of the Cold War, scholars such as Francis Fukuyama argued that liberal democracy represented the final stage of ideological evolution, famously framing it as “the end of history.” However, what was celebrated as the final and best form of human government began to buckle under its own contradictions almost as soon as the Berlin Wall fell. “The end” became the starting point for a new political reordering, characterised by the rise of anti-liberal and, eventually, far-right discourses and practices. While the facade of a Europe as some temple of human rights continued to exist, equality, multiculturalism, globalisation and integration, neo-colonial and identitarian thought intensified beneath the surface, ultimately culminating in the explosion of illiberalism we are all witness to.

The study of illiberalism has been largely dominated by political science, particularly in analyses of democratic backsliding and institutional erosion (see e.g. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt). This disciplinary focus reflects the fact that illiberalism directly challenges core institutional principles of liberal democracy, including the rule of law, pluralism, checks and balances, the open society, and individual rights. For established democratic systems, illiberalism and its associated phenomena – far-right extremism, corrosive populist narratives, identitarianism, and civilisationism – constitute potentially existential pressures.

However, attacking the liberal order does not only provoke political anxieties. The attributes and characteristics of illiberalism also redefine notions of what it means to be European and, conversely, what it means to be a stranger in European lands. Since illiberalism involves practices, policies, and ideologies as they are lived and experienced, one essential angle of examination must be anthropological, i.e. focusing on how political ideas are translated into everyday meanings, identities, and social boundaries, particularly through processes of inclusion and exclusion. 

The political anthropology of new non-liberal politics is structured around two primary pillars: identity and exclusion.

“Liberal democracy is no longer able to protect people’s dignity, provide freedom, guarantee physical security, or maintain Christian culture” said Hungary’s Viktor Orbán in his address after taking the prime ministerial oath of office in 2018. The abstract concept of liberal democracy itself could not be inherently worrisome, nor are the values or priorities it claims on paper – the trouble lies in its practicality. Thus, an intuitive question arises, opening the door to the anthropological underpinnings of illiberalism: what or who challenges European dignity, security, and Christianity? The answer to this question reveals another layer of illiberalism – its inclination toward far-right and populist discourses, which together build a narrative of exclusion.

Some of the primary drivers of intensified exclusion and marginalisation are backlashes against globalisation and multiculturalism. However, this explanation remains incomplete without examining the anthropological dimensions of these reactions. From this perspective, two key factors help explain why Europe’s liberal order, characterised by equality, open borders, integrity, and inclusion, has come under strain.

First, postcolonial dynamics not only exist outside Europe but have also moved into European spaces, challenging Europe from within. Recent developments – most notably the politicisation of migration following the 2015 refugee influx, the rise of exclusionary nationalist movements, and the mainstreaming of anti-multicultural discourse – illustrate this shift. While European liberalism was normatively and institutionally framed as resilient to such pressures, it was less prepared to confront them as internalised historical continuities rooted in its own imperial past.

Second, deepening the first perspective, postcolonial Europe has sanitised its history, constructing national and supranational narratives while ignoring imperial and colonial legacies. This selective memory has allowed modern exclusionary practices to replicate past forms of domination, maintaining hierarchical and racialised distinctions. 

One of the most vivid illustrations of how "otherness" is articulated and treated in Europe was the 2015 European migrant crisis. It revealed Europe’s failure to uphold the cultural and political values it had previously promised as priorities. Moreover, migration not only intensified the estrangement of "others" but also provoked a crisis of European identity. Europe’s boundaries – geographical, cultural, and racial – became blurred, leading to nativist and exclusionary politics, exemplified by the rise of far-right movements. The illiberal response portrayed society as inherently divided into opposing halves: “privileged” versus “non-privileged”, “oppressor” versus “oppressed”, “powerful” versus “powerless”, “native” versus “foreigner”, and one religious community versus another.

Another important pillar of today’s illiberalism is Christianity. While referring to the European way of living and its perceived incompatibility with Islam, illiberal actors often instrumentalise religion. As Rogers Brubaker argues, Christianity is portrayed not merely as a religion but as a defining feature of civilisational identity, framed in direct contrast to Islam. Similarly, secularism is promoted as a tool to diminish the visibility of Islam in the public sphere. These twin instrumentalisations, of Christianity and secularism, exacerbate the alienation and anxiety already felt by marginalised groups.

This dynamic discloses a broader pattern: illiberalism operates not only as a political project but as a cultural one. It embeds itself in symbols, narratives, and everyday meanings, using cultural sorting mechanisms to draw boundaries between those who belong and those who do not. Collective stereotypes – such as associating entire religious or ethnic groups with backwardness or inferiority – become tools through which exclusion is normalised and institutionalised.

Anthropology offers valuable insights into this process by emphasising the lived experiences of those excluded and the cultural systems that sustain illiberalism. By understanding illiberalism as a cultural system, rather than just a political ideology, we can uncover the deeper dynamics at play and work toward a more inclusive and equitable society. In this way, anthropology becomes a critical tool for not only diagnosing the problem but also envisioning pathways toward a truly pluralistic and democratic Europe.

Illustration: Will Allen/Europinion