Enemies Within The Global Politics of Fifth Columns

The invocation of fifth columns in the political arena -- whether contrived or based on real fears -- has recurred periodically throughout history and is experiencing an upsurge in our era of democratic erosion and geopolitical uncertainty. Fifth columns accusations can have baleful effects on
governance and trust, as they call into question the loyalty and belonging of the targeted populations. They can cause human rights abuses, political repression, and even ethnic cleansing. Enemies Within is the first book to systematically investigate the roots and implications of the politics of
fifth columns. In this volume, a multidisciplinary group of leading scholars address several related questions: When are actors likely to employ fifth-column claims and against whom? What accounts for changes in fifth-column framing over time? How do the claims and rhetoric of governments differ
from those of societal groups? How do accusations against ethnically or ideologically defined groups differ? Finally, how do actors labeled as fifth columns respond? To answer these questions, the contributors apply a common theoretical framework and work within the tradition of qualitative social
science to analyze cases from three continents, oftentimes challenging conventional wisdom. Enemies Within offers a unique perspective to better understand contemporary challenges including the rise of populism and authoritarianism, the return of chauvinistic nationalism, the weakening of democratic
norms, and the persecution of ethnic or religious minorities and political dissidents.

Harris Mylonas is associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and editor-in-chief of Nationalities Papers.

Scott Radnitz is the Herbert J. Ellison Associate Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies and Director of the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.

List of Tables and Figures
Preface
List of Contributors

Introduction: Theorizing Fifth-Column Politics
Scott Radnitz and Harris Mylonas

Part 1: Subversive Fifth-Column Politics

Chapter 1
The Enemy Within: Divisive Political Discourse in Modern Poland
Volha Charnysh

Chapter 2
Antisemitic Tropes, Fifth Columnism and "Soros-Bashing":
The Curious Case of Central European University
Erin K. Jenne, András Bozóki, Péter Visnovitz

Chapter 3
Civil Society, Fifth-Column Perceptions, and Wartime deportations:
Japanese and German Americans
H. Zeynep Bulutgil and Sam Erkiletian

Chapter 4
The Geopolitics of "Fifth Column" Framing in Xinjiang
Kendrick Kuo and Harris Mylonas

Part 2: Collusive Fifth-Column Politics

Chapter 5
No Collusion! Or is There? Presidents as Puppets in Russia and the United States
Scott Radnitz

Chapter 6
"Sellers of the Homeland": Narratives of Treason and Fidelity in Afghanistan
Robert D. Crews

Part 3: Challenges to Fifth-Column Politics

Chapter 7
Security Threats or Citizens? Fifth-Column Rhetoric in Jordan
Lillian Frost

Chapter 8
External or Internal Enemies?:
Polish Citizens in Interwar France and the Ethnic Politics of Citizenship
Kathryn Ciancia

Chapter 9
Imagined Treason and Post-Lavender Scare Politics:
How LGBTQ Communities Respond to Fifth Column Accusations
Samer M. Anabtawi

Chapter 10
When Fifth Columns Fall:
Religious Groups and Loyalty Signaling in Erdo?an's Turkey
Kristin E. Fabbe and Efe Murat Balikcioglu

Conclusion: Fifth-Column Politics Revisited
Scott Radnitz and Harris Mylonas