Becoming a Stranger in One's Own Country
Léwis Verdun
Editeur: Five Minutes Editions
Can someone live in their native country and suddenly feel like a stranger there ? This short book explores a powerful contemporary malaise : the loss of belonging, the crisis of trust, social fractures, political polarization and tensions around national identity. Drawing on recent data and reliable sources, Becoming a Stranger in One's Own Country analyzes why so many citizens feel that their society no longer recognizes them, protects them or speaks their symbolic language.
The book shows that this feeling does not concern one group only : it crosses generations, social classes, territories, anxious majorities and insufficiently recognized minorities. It questions migration, diversity, downward mobility, social networks, institutional distrust and the rise of narratives opposing us and them.
Accessible, nuanced and well documented, this book offers one essential key : making change livable without manufacturing enemies. An indispensable read for understanding today's debates on social cohesion, national identity and living together.