The article analyzes the causes and the aggressive potential of nationalism, an essential reference for new authoritarian and populist movements and parties around the world. Understanding requires an approach that combines philosophy and social psychology, since the roots of the new authoritarian nationalism refer to the relationship between the structural crisis of modern society and the psychological disintegration of the subject. Furthermore, the understanding of the potential of nationalism must take as a guide the New Categorical Imperative or «duty of (...) memory» by Theodor W. Adorno. In this direction, the article examines the relationship between mythology of the nation, racism and anti-semitism, on the one hand, and Ernst Fraenkel's thesis on the «Dual State», on the other hand. (shrink)