About the Author

Sasha Polakow-Suransky, a 2016 fellow at the Open Society Foundations, was an Opinion editor at the New York Times from 2011 to 2015, where he was responsible for assigning pieces on foreign policy and international affairs. From 2007 until 2011 he was a senior editor at Foreign Affairs magazine. He received his doctorate in History from St Antony's College, Oxford and is the author of The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship With Apartheid South Africa.

Reviews

'Polakow-Suransky ... has reported from across the globe for this book, providing dispatches from refugee camps and interviewing politicians, activists and immigrants on all sides of this debate. He captures social and political transformations in simple, memorable lines.'
*Washington Post*

​'[Polakow-Suransky] has covered a good amount of territory, interviewed some of the continent's characters, and given a fairish tour of recent events.'​
*Evening Standard*

'Go Back to Where you Came From analyses the problem well ... Sasha Polakow-Suransky ... has painstakingly documented this phenomenon.'
*The Irish Times*

'Polakow-Suransky ... has produced something badly needed in the English language: a comprehensive and impartial explanatory survey of the people and ideas behind the rise of the politics of intolerance, not just in Europe but across much of the Western world ... this book's strength is its window into Europe's voices, past and present, and the links the author finds between them.'
*The Globe and Mail*

'Aided by conflict and a deflationary crisis not seen since the 1930s, the West has been taken over by a moral panic over immigrants that threatens to found a new fascism. Sasha Polakow-Suransky's new book is a fine antidote to this motivated menace.'
*Yanis Varoufakis, author of And The Weak Suffer What They Must? Europe, Austerity and the Threat to Global Stability*

'An important, deeply reported investigation into the rise of the extreme right around the globe and a warning of the implications for western democracies. A must read for all concerned citizens.'
*Paul Mason, author of PostCapitalism*

'The populist rebellion sweeping the West is driven by a toxic combination of immigration, inequality, and identity. Sasha Polakow-Suransky's superb new book unpacks the story, taking readers through a changing Europe bursting with promise yet racked by conflict. With its deep reportage, gripping prose, and powerful message, it is a must read for anyone trying to understand global politics today -- and tomorrow.'
*Gideon Rose, Editor of Foreign Affairs*

'[The author's] analysis is detailed and full of illustrative information and data. This is not written from an ivory tower, but records wide-ranging face-to-face conversations with many of the leaders of these movements across Europe and the US. It is difficult to do justice to this project in a short review.'

Sasha Polakow-Suransky is an Open Society Foundations fellow. He was an op-ed editor at the New York Times and a senior editor at Foreign Affairs and holds a doctorate in modern history from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, the New Republic and the​ Boston Globe.