both the Russians and other nationsrnis the question of survival.rnThe fact that Russians are addressingrnthat question—sometimes, admittedly,rnin reprehensible (the Nazism of Barkashov),rnunattractive (the “national bolshevism”rnof communist leader GennadirnZyuganov), and bizarre (the ranting ofrn”liberal democrat” Vladimir Zhirinovsky)rnways —is itself unacceptable to thernglobal managerial elite that dominatesrntheir country and ours: hence Russianrnnationalism’s bogeyman status amongrnthe “democratic” intelligentsia of Americarnand Russia alike. If Allensworth isrnright in believing that a nationalist ofrnsome sort will come to power afterrnYeltsin, we can expect a full-blownrn”Who Lost Russia?” hysteria from thernglobalist apparatus in Washington, andrnmaybe even a new Cold War. But a surveyrnof the current American politicalrnscene, alas, offers little hope that thernglobalists may soon be crying in theirrnPerrier, “Who Lost America?”rnJames George Jatras is a policy analyst atrnthe United States Senate. The views expressedrnare his own and do not representrnany Senate member or office.rnOur DemographicrnDestinyrnby Scott McConnellrnA Question of Numbers: HighrnMigration, Low Fertility, and thernPolitics of National Identityrnby Michael S. Teitelbaumrnand Jay WinterrnNew York: Hill & Wang;rn290 pp., $26.00rnIf dispassion is the tone best suited forrnwriting about contentious ethnic andrndemographic issues, this lucid survey ofrnthe numbers question across much ofrnthe Northern Hemisphere deserves everyrnplaudit. With palpable restraint andrnsometimes maddening equivocation, demographerrnMichael Teitelbaum andrnhistorian Jay Winter survey the intertwinedrnissues of birth rates, immigration,rnand other factors contributing to demographicrninstability in nine countries,rnwhere the resulting conflicts range fromrnthe relatively muted (in France, England,rnGermany, and the United States)rnthrough the more nettlesome (Canada,rnRussia, and the former Soviet Union)rnto the downright horrific (the formerrnYugoslavia). The authors are plainlyrnaware that expressions of uneasinessrnconcerning these issues may either berndemagogic or inspire accusations ofrndemagog)’, and that in establishment circlesrnthroughout the contemporary Westrnit is considered bad form to worry publiclyrnabout the demographic decline ofrnone’s own group. For this reason, theyrnwrite as the most cautious professors: torninform, not to alarm. While they occasionallyrnpoint to the deeper and morerncontentious questions raised by theirrnsubject, they nearly always step backrnfrom the brink, refusing to venture answersrnof their own. Nevertheless, theirrnwork does convey that something veryrnsignificant is going on throughout thernWestern industrialized world. As Teitelbaumrnand Winter claim, “every country’srnpublic life is vitally affected by demographicrnissues,” and the Westernrndeveloped countries, having surmountedrn(often painfully) the traumas of industrialization,rnnonetheless face “an uncertainrnfuture” as their internal ethnicrnbalances undergo dramatic shifts.rnNearly all Western countries have lowrnbirth rates, often combined with highrnand rising levels of immigration. Thernauthors begin with Germany, where fertilityrnrates dipped below replacement levelrn(an average of 2.1 births per woman)rnin 1970 and kept dropping through thernmid-1980’s. The idea of German citizenshiprn—forged in the 19th-centuryrnunification batties—is based on a communih’rnof common descent. Thus, guestrnworkers from Turkey and elsewhere whornmigrated to West Germany in the 1950’srnwere never considered German, norrnwere their children. In the 1980’s, asylumrnseekers from all over the EasternrnHemisphere began to enter the country.rnThese migrations would surely havernseemed less significant were the Germansrnthemselves not shrinking in number.rnWhen hoodlums engaged in sporadicrnviolent attacks against the migrantsrnin the early I990’s, they found a considerablerncushion of popular support. Asrnone German banker notes, “Of coursernwe need foreigners, but how many? Ourrnelites have not been able to come uprnwith good explanations for the fears peoplernhave about Germany’s future.” Atrnpresent, the political establishmentrnseems to have coalesced around a sensiblernmiddle ground: expanding the eligibilit}’rnfor German citizenship to includernthe long-resident Turks and others, whilernreducing the flow of new immigrants.rnBut as long as ethnic Germans do notrnN A S H V I L^ I . K 1 S ( > 4rnT H E D Y I N G O F T H E L I G H TrnA NOVEL BY M A D I S O N J O N E Srn”NASHVILLE 1864 belongs in the charmed circlernof Civil War novels that have accurately calledrnup that savage era”rn- George Garrettrn-4S Winner of the MICHAEL SHAARA AWARD FOR CIVIL WAR FICTIONrn•4S Winner of the T.S. ELIOT AWARD FOR CREATIVE WRITINGrnSPECIAL 10% DISCOUNT TO CHRONICLES SUBSCRIBERSrnNormal retail price is $1 7.95. Send ctieck for $16.15 plus $3 shippingrnto: J.S. Sanders & Company, PO Box 5 0 3 3 1 , Nashville TN 37205.rnOr call (800) 350-1 101, Fax (615) 790-2594.rn%^^^^§^ wmm^rn30/CHRONICLESrnrnrn