PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 1

Phenomenon of Trending Nationalistic Policies Around the World

Christopher E. Hernandez

Global Studies and Maritime Affairs

CSU Maritime Academy

PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 2

Abstract

This paper will be working on the topic of the role of globalization and the growing national sentiment around the world that has begun with a handful of states and a few who are amongst the top three superpowers. It will dive deeper into understanding why states of various

strengths have taken this approach and why. Since the fall of the USSR and the ending of the

Cold War, there have been many international organizations created and other agreements to

help the benefit the relationship between countries who aligned themselves with one another.

The more connected states are, the more beneficial the relationship becomes is how the majority

of the world sees it. But recently there has been a growth in national sentiment and states who are pursuing to separate themselves from others meaning they have their own reasons for

exclusion.

PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 3

Introduction

The premise of this paper is learning about the ongoing trend in countries around the globe in taking strong stances and promoting more nationalistic polices. The matter is important since there was been statements regarding the state of nationalism currently in the world and is unclear if it will make a reappearance in the 21st century since many scholars have predicted the

state of nationalism will not ever be as strong as it was in the 19th century. Countries around the

world since 2016 have led some to believe that perhaps we will begin to see more of the same

ideological behavior further into the future. Every country has their own unique situation in

reasoning to why they have changed or are preparing to alter their policies domestically and

foreign. It was seen in the 2016 U.S. election to Brexit, the nationalist polices pushed by the

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and the Turkish

president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In addition, there has been a higher success rate from

conservative and nationalistic parties in Italy, Germany and Austrian elections in 2017 and 2018.

There is significant difference of policies from before and the new ones implemented recently

such as buffing defense along with security and regulations pertaining to migrants and trade.

Some of these go into studies as far as the economic state of countries who pursued different

endeavors, treatment from IGOs and other areas of interest revolving around domestic issues of

states. Many articles both against and for pro nationalist policies have been published over the

past ten years and continue to increase to present day. The volume of media traffic orbiting the

subject indicated there has been more discussion from local to federal level of countries. Many of

them showing signs of pro nationalistic policies and wanting to bring back their own identity that

has been lost in the past decade. Some are cultural issues, financial dilemmas, ethnic tensions

and loss of security from external threats. PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 4

Phenomenon of Trending Nationalistic Policies Around the World

The topic will be focused on the growing national sentiment and the relationship with the globalized system currently in place. It will be also looking into sources regarding to the phenomenon taking place around world and quickly spreading interest to other nations. Factors that have an influence and have been demonstrated in the historic events are beginning to make a resurgence once again and causing a chain reaction with states around the globe. From a physiological point for the shift from a globalized attitude to a nationalistic interest, Nigel Barber mentions populations tend to switch political affiliations when they feel a sense of insecurity or a decrease in income. Like the 1930s during the great depression and affected Europe generated unhappiness in the population leading to a cooperative movement to a resolution by any means necessary. This led to two entirely different directions where Germany took matter into their own hands whereas the United States benefited from the actions of Germany and turning the nation into an industrial war machine (“The Resurgence of Nationalism,” 2018). The next source regarding to factors in which nations pursue national interest over international cooperative objectives comes from financial triggers. Mourduokoutas explains events leading to the great depression in the 1930s referring to the wealth distribution being stretched too far and often draining some economies to the point that those economies need that wealth to sustain

(Mourdoukoutas, 2019). Another factor contributing to the transition is the current interest of the five great powers. As it has been in history in ancient times, the most powerful nation dictate policy and depending what direction stronger powers pursue, smaller states will follow to remain on negotiating conditions for the benefit of their own existence (Shulman, 2002). To also understand why their tension in the international relations to go towards national or international interests is because the infrastructure and governing organization have been heavily built around PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 5

globalism and developing a new system doesn’t happen overnight (Bieber, 2018). Other reasons

come from countries since the second world war and proxy conflicts during the cold war felt they

have been unfairly represented and heavily sanctioned because of events that took place in the

past. In turn they have begun to break away from the international governing system and focus

on policies to help their own people (Duara, 2018). Looking into social triggers, Kenan Malik

looked at how Europe has embraced the idea of multiculturalism as the answer to unify Europe

and other groups of people abroad entering the European continent. Kenan reviews and analyzes

how this concept was viewed in contrast today where leaders from Germany and U.K. have denounced multiculturalism and its dangers (Malik, 2019). Another source relating to this topic is the article by Huntington where he argues certain civilizations naturally cannot merge and categorizes them by cultural and religious identities where future problems will be derived from the conflict of cultures (Huntington, Samuel P., 1997).

Conceptualizing the Basis of Nationalism:

Understanding nationalism is a complex and very multidimensional of a concept to comprehend which it encompasses several disparate but a related phenomenon. The term nationalism has been used in a variety of ways where it can make its perception of the meaning very confusing simply because it has been utilized by scholars in various social sciences. One the major impediments to scientific progress in the field of social science is that scholars will speak from their own side and often pass one another using the same terminology. This then skews the meaning of Nationalism and commonly is misrepresented to what its true meaning is. To understand the basis and meaning of Nationalism, we first must organize and conceptualize nationalism’s disparate uses because the term nationalism will reflect much differently depending on what group, culture and ethnicity it is associated with. There are also varying consequences PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 6

with the behavior of national ideals when complemented with differing states, political actors

and ethnicity.

When looking at nationalism, it exists in identities that can be separated by personal or

group association. At a personal level or from an individual perspective, people may consider

themselves to belong to something such as their own country and this then establishes them to

have their own national identity. When you look at it from an association from a group, people will have certain characteristics or unifying ideals that makes them come to together under one nation. When coming together from various groups but have the same distinguishing attributes it creates a criterion of membership. Previous scholars have gone into the studies of nationalism but have referenced it to distinction between civil, ethnic and cultural nationalism (Duara, 2018).

Membership in civic nations comes down to the status of citizenship or represent for political institutions with an emphasis on enforcing and retaining laws. This gives members of those interest the desire to apart of the nation with a promise of being protected in those areas.

Membership in ethnic national cultures is more on the focus of shared common characteristics which could range from language, race or even having the same religious preference.

The second dimension of nationalism resides in ideology where nationalist put forward the action to defend and promote the very vital interest of the nation. These interest under ideological terms come out to be formalized as wither doctrines which we have seen before used on the international scale by the United States. Doctrines generally entail the primary objectives nationalist desire to pursue in attaining autonomy for their country whether it is existing within a state or acting as an independent one. What follows is the promotion of unity and to advance their interest nationalist must gather members in order to form a single state or it can be a form of political unity. This can also be done by using psychological unity by in order to acquire more PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 7

cohesion within the nation by developing an identity for their group by using culture to increase

their overall reputation.

The final dimension of nationalism are the concerns for the group, and this is most likely

best to call it sentiment since it will refer often to peoples’ overall moral orientation toward their

own nation. There are three types of sentiment that can be broken down labeled as attachment,

chauvinism and submission. Attachment is the attitude and feeling of the affection and pride of a

nation where it goes beyond the individual self-interest and more towards identity and having a

positive emotional connection with their nation. Examples could range from terms used today as

ways to describe loyalty and solidarity under one flag. Chauvinism is the belief that one nation is

superior to another or to have significant value than others. This can be perceived in many ways and commonly in today’s society and where political tensions is looked down upon. The positive perspective is looking at your own nation and recognizing the benefits it offers such as freedoms and ability to have ownership of assets where other nations do not. This comes derived from the constitution or laws that are in place to provide citizens those rights. The negative perception of

Chauvinism is where individuals look at other states and make their standing of being superior based on culture, language or interactions with them. Finally, we have Submission where members have an obligation to serve or be loyal to their own nation. Members of that nation also believe everyone has the obligation to obey and when called upon to answer it. Many people who are unfamiliar with this concept of submission may not considered events in historic periods to align with this definition. When the pope was in a position of power in the 1400s, he was able to call upon all the kingdoms in the Christian realms to crusade against their counterparts in the

Middle East. Muslims also have an obligatory submission where in the event a “Jihad” is called, they are required to answer and is punishable if ignored. Submission is also a double edge sword PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 8

where it can be utilized to serve a purpose for the greater good or abused by the nation’s hierarchy. Ultimately loyalty to a one’s nation can be looked at as one of the fundamental attributes to nationalism but at the same time can also disrupt the unity of large membership groups. Sometimes referred to as “blind patriotism” where the masses will follow leaders without hesitation or context on what is truly happening. Although there are arguments where giving

context of events to large membership groups will create a divide over small issues and

jeopardize the survival of an existing state from a larger threat.

Conceptualizing the Basis of Globalization

Globalization is typically used to describe integration among states in the international

system and scales very well in terms of measurement in economy. There is a incentive for countries to join the globalized system because it has become essential for states who wish to further develop of a nation but cannot be self-efficient if that nation does not have access to resources in comparison to larger powers. These benefits consist of achieving and setting benchmarks for addressing international concerns which are a majority common area of interest to all other states. These areas include human rights, reducing poverty, accessible healthcare and advancing education. In past years and even decades before, the overall quality and advancement of technology has enabled far isolated communities from major parts of the world and within their own country to thrive and expand. During the same time financing of institutions and various organizations have contributed to the acceleration of development in underdeveloped societies where jobs have been generated and increased commerce.

Just as nationalism has dimensions in political, economic and cultural factors,

Globalizations has its own. To weaken the legitimacy of a nation boundaries such as political interests and decision making that would take place within the boundaries needs and requires its PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 9

authority to be transferred from a state to a supra state level. Organizations that would replace

and assume position of authoritative power would reside with ones that currently exist such as

the United Nations, European Union or the World Health Organization. Of course, in order to

enforce regulations or laws established by these international organization, the state must have

recognized and have transferred authority. Without having permission from states, it would break the very principles that these organization pride themselves on which is sovereignty.

The second dimension of globalization is the economic pillar which refers mostly to having the ability to cross over boundaries and dictate the land and trade markets. Examples of these types of decision that could be executed could limit the number of certain products into a state’s boundaries for the protection of their markets. This could also be used on individuals coming in and out of the country enforcing rules where foreigners cannot purchase land in X country.

The third dimension is revolved around culture and the ability to enter state boundaries to create measures to promote processes or impede upon them. These are fairly small but over time can influence businesses, affiliations to groups, policies and political views in a state’s society.

Examples could possibly be “``Television in X country should give preference to X country’s ®

lms and programs’’; and ``Schools in X country should make more effort to teach foreign

languages properly.’’ (Shulman, 2002).

The final dominion is known as labor globalization where the movement of people from

different state boundaries are in search for work and it focused on providing opportunities for

those coming from different state’s to permanently work and settle in another state connected tin

the globalized systems. The subject is regarding to immigrants and whether they are generally

good for X country or if they provide negative effects. PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 10

Critical Triggers and Juncture for Cause

What most the world understood from a welcoming arm open point of view is that the more diverse and affluent their populations became the more connected people will become. In recent history wealth has increased considerably but the politics became increasingly more conservative to the point where small pockets of nations around the world have taken a much different stance and are shooting for the interest of their own people. Why did this rule fail and what happened to the attitude of welcoming the idea multiculturalism?

The rule of introducing more open groups to societies and countries pushing for more diversity has slowly been coming to a decline as there are now more complicated functions when creating a diversified state. More groups and voices will be introduced but that also means more concerns and differing views will conflict. As more countries become developed over time, more changes are made to satisfy all concerns from groups of people. There are significantly more differences in social attitudes and tend to move towards tolerances and inclusiveness which vary from a massive range of topics. Of course, not everyone can be entirely satisfied in today’s modern world and we have come to a point where not all concerns can be fixed. In short, wealthier countries tend to be more liberal versus poorer nations where they are more restrictive and less tolerant of diversifying their populations. The key point is the economic factor and wealth is going to be the biggest driver here. There are numerous instances where whenever economic contractions occur, populations become less liberal and are more concerned for the wellness of their own families or self. Like mammals living in stressful environments, their behavior is much different to those living in habitats where resources are plentiful, and predators are near nonexistent. PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 11

The same behavior can be found in humans where the implications could range from

performances, failures to even relationships. It is fair to say from political standpoint,

conservatives are more prepared and strongly motivated to secure more certainty in the future in

comparison with liberal views. This can also be generated by feeling a loss in security or being put into a position of economic stress. Just as mammals adjust to environmental effects and changes, humans will react to social conditions. In the times of harsh conditions or settings, people will begin to react more assertively and become somewhat “tougher” when faced with decisions that would have been sensitive topics before and not spoken about. Boundaries will be crossed, and priorities will be made in order to revert the tough social conditions and insecurities.

I mention these shifts of behaviors in mammals since there is a rough correlation in how humans

react when put in similar settings but different conditions that would trigger changes in

psychological thinking. This also explains why some people in different parts of the world are

extremely surprised and often in denial that many of the successes of right leaning political

parties in elections is due to the fact that the more open and liberal policies have created

insecurities and uncertainty for the future. Populations will feel the negative effects and

ultimately will respond to them.

Income distribution is one of the problems that the United States and other diverse

countries are facing is during a time period where wealth is increasing for the nation, the lower

half the population is not seeing increases in their share of distribution. Creating distrust and

unhappiness where the populations went to the extreme spectrum of several political groups in

search of protection and financial safety. The 1930’s was a prime example from the Great

Depression where groups converged and often targeted one another when haunted by their own

insecurities. Financial strains in the public can be expressed through a rise in drug addictions and PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 12

alcoholism. When the Soviet Union fell, populations by the masses in Russia began to use substances to cope and created a addiction epidemic. Substances could vary from opiates, methamphetamines and basalts. Like the United States in present day, the country is trying to combat the opioid crises it currently has and many pockets where users tend to be living are in economically depressed districts. When the common people begin to see signals or indicators of society crumbling, it causes a shift to the right where they are looking for leaders to restore order.

Another factor to consider is that trust in the United States is lower compared to other

developed countries and this trend is generally connected to a high rate of both crime and ethnic

hostilities. Social depression unrest comes from following failures by the government

performance resulting in falling infrastructure, decline in academic performance in schools,

increasing incarceration and a growing poverty level. It causes everyone to feel exposed in a

climate where much of their destiny is determined by politicians or financial elites. An example can be drawn from the Great Depression where problems similar had surfaced. Because of the social problems inflicting damage on the population, there was a surge in more national thinkers and growth in conservative parties. In our time period, we have created realities that are much different than those before us regarding topic in economy and political views. But everything is also gauged at different levels of exposure to news stories deemed as sensitive or concerning events and other inducing stories to fed paranoia in modern media.

Since the early years of media and new stories on television, psychologists have always worried about showing violent images in entertainment or media because they thought it would incite violent behavior among the population. While many of their concerns were exaggerated, what happened was the opposite. Instead of the populations becoming more “violent” or showing behavior that would be present in media, it has made people more aware the outside world is a PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 13

dangerous place. Although it has been a positive that much if the population has an idea of what’s out there but in many instances the media also paints a more exaggerated picture vs the reality of certain topic or events. The world over time has been significant much safer than it was

years ago, but the media is partly to blame to distort what really happens when reporting stories.

Many of them using a spread tactic to gain more viewers with their “if it bleeds, it leads” (“The

Resurgence of Nationalism,” n.d.). If journalism is having such an affect, then those who are

either reading or exposed to their articles can be subject to biased reporting which can generate

paranoia of representation that are based on the reporter’s writing and opinions. It remains true

even if viewers do not fall for some false reporting, but it still has found its way into multiple

social media platforms. Still does not help if political leaders are aligning themselves with

certain groups whether it is left or right since it further creates more suspicious reporting

depending on what media platforms are presenting their story. In the recent decade of reporting

the trust from media platforms has fallen with the general population as there is proof on

numerous occasions where stories have been reported either wrong or entirely false.

Nationalism as a Complicated Relationship

Nationalism be a complicated relationship and like many relationships, there is effort to keep a balance between one’s self and those around them. Many countries have succeeded in using it to develop but it also has generated various forms of exclusivism and rivalry that make it significantly harder to resolve world global issues. Development of economic is important in this case but objectives countries must chase after. Few people often see or describe the rise of nationalism as tribalism as sign of tearing a country itself apart but there is a form of interest those state have developed over time to achieve to better themselves and behind those interest are roots of cause. PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 14

A perfect example is to look at Japan where its rapid nationalism has actually led to its own growth and expansion prior to the 20 centuries. “The institutions and programs established during Japan’s rule in the colonies were well suited to modern development. After the war, countries such as Korea and Taiwan were able to adapt Japan’s top-down model, its colonial institutions and a virulent anti-communist nationalism that—when combined with the security and economic opportunity by the United States—led to rapid growth” (Duara, 2018). In the

1970s this new form of development was swapped with more active and dynamic models of political governance along with a balance if economic governance growth. Driven in mostly densely populated nation such as China and India, Growth in both countries were guided by nationalist movements especially during the revolutionary period in China. Development was inspired by a broad type of nationalism which derived from redistributive authority and failures of previous governance systems where a new class rose up and demanded change. “In Southeast

Asia, the rise of the nation paired with inclusion (in a Japan-centered regional economy) led to growth during the 1970s-1990s. Interdependence was cemented after the Asian financial crisis of

1997-98 as the region emerged with new ideas for shared economic security through the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)” (“The Resurgence of Nationalism,” n.d.).

There are two forms of nationalism manifesting Europe that are very closely connected to imperialism and the forces of development in both economic and exclusions that have made it well into the 20th century. Eric Hobs who I known in the political science community pointed out that imperial expansion was justified by nationalism and focused on benefiting the state of origin where movement came from. Hannah Arendt who wrote a piece on the Pan-Germanism and Pan

Slavism talking about how imperialist used the idea of harnessing nationalism to supersede a narrative to attract people to support the representation of their nation. Through the World Wars PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 15

and moving forward into the post war timeline, the expression is receiving mixed feelings around

Europe as some link the idea of nationalism has led to the catastrophic World Wars while others

argue it is fighting against oppression and tyranny in order to receive fair representation. Just as

the World Wars have occurred due to the rise of nationalism but it is also important to remember

that many kings and hierarchies have also been torn down to help benefit and offer better

treatment of the common people by introducing democracy. Of course, the idea came from the

United States, but that very idea was also as way to show that we are either American, French or

whichever country a population comes from and the feeling of satisfaction of the people should

ultimately be dictated by the policies and laws they choose.

International Politics

Moving into international politics, there are similar trends happening around the globe

where nations have seen their countries beginning to decline and whereas other underdeveloped

nations are starting to thrive at the cost of first and second world nations. A handful have dropped the interest of continuing to satisfy the interest the current international system has and are switching to help themselves. Many of them pursuing national interest policies to bring the wellness of their own citizens back and not continue to provide or solve the problems other nations have. In Europe there has been a trend in rising nationalist parties and most particularly in Western Europe. Election in 2016 through 2017 show the strength of more conservative parties, policies and the candidates that were elected. Overall, they have become successful as one of the notable parties gained 46.2% in presidential elections. Norbert Hofer was elected form the Freedom Party in France. In 2017 Marine Le Pen from the Front National gained 33.9% during the second round of Presidential elections (Bieber, 2018). In Germany the (AfD) or

Alternative für Deutschland won 12.6% of the vote in September of 2017. Taking place in Italy PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 16

the Italian election under the leadership of Salvini rose up as the third largest party with 17.37%

of the vote. However, the success was not a landslide across of the EU as small parties in other

countries did not see the same results as their foreign counterparts. Much of the parties in the UK

lost most support and received only 1.8% of the popular vote. But in the Netherlands on behalf

of PVV from Geert Wilders, another right leaning party emerged as the second largest political

party. The Wilders received an unfortunate result and expected outcomes to be much higher than

expected, but nevertheless it showed an increase in voters supporting their party.

United States

An international movement had begun to resurface after the elections the

president trump and swept across the west starting to work with each other and drawing

inspiration form the recent elected president. “In the modern world, in short, nations want their

own states to ensure their survival and autonomy, while states promote nationalism to strengthen

themselves and preserve their independence” (Walt, n.d.). For the longest time the United States has been a country where it tried to remain inclusive to all groups alike and changed policies to fit standards and practices that were generally not American once before. Donald Trump has been the spearhead in this movement and development for such a phenomenon. The president is often described and portrayed by his counterparts an isolated leader pulling away from the international system. The reality is, he has become a leader of an international movement taking places around the globe. Mr. President Trump has shifted the interest of American policy making towards a nationalist direction where they have highlighted flaws in the current system, but many world leaders refuse to shine light upon them. This has changed the attitude of international and national politics around the world. PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 17

The United States has secured ideological allies in Europe with Hungary’s prime

minister who came into power just before president Trump along with Italy’s prime minister

Matteo Salvini. Shortly after many parties in Europe have been successful in recent elections as the general ideology shifted to more conservative groups. Germany, Britain, and Austria have

shown a emergence in the same directions with having successes within their own countries.

Many of these countries have recognized a common issue which is the influx of immigrants coming into their countries but have felt the negatives of allowing open borders. Many of them

now taking the same rhetoric and style as Mr. Trump to focus their efforts within their nation and not in other foreign problems. The United States has become more hostile in international treaties and international organization regarding them as useless, unbeneficial global institutions where

“global elites” are to remain in power. The Untied States has withdrawn from the Paris Climate

Treaty and Institutions like the UN Human Rights Council since they have not brought any significant change or been consistent with their roles. United States has threatened before to cuts funding for military assets to NATO’s defense budget as most of the maintenance is paid majority by the United States and other nations in the EU are contributing less then the bare minimum. Funds that would be going to NATO’s defense will be diverted the wall constructions being built the United States. Changes in priorities in policies show other nations around the world that on one perspective, its it essentially acceptable to withdrawal from international efforts and providing aid where funds and time can be used to better their own nation.

The United States has lost a sense of identity and the term American Nationalism refers to efforts to solidifying aspects that would characterize and the distinguish the United States with their identity. Financially the U.S. has slowly been fighting against entering another recession and conservative parties have highlighted were the loopholes exploited by other nations and PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 18

using the United States wealth to cover the cost of trade and defense budgets along with other

IGOs. The trade wars that have taken place in efforts to even the trade with other nations and

prevent losing money when doing trade. China and the EU import significantly much than the

US does exports to those regions. As an attempt to relinquish the loss of wealth and fearing

China economy getting stronger over time, the United States is focused on strengthening their

economy.

The United States has also been reforming their migration policies and laws in order to

better secure ports of entry around the country. A concern expressed by the administration is the large influx of migrants that illegally cross into the United States and over time hinder the population with certain effects. These could range from financial, agricultural, biological and security threats to the country and the citizens within. For decade the United States has been enforcing migration regulatory laws but has not full adequality adapted to changes in varying threats. President Donald Trump has gained popularity and exposing the flaws in the current systems and how many politicians turn a blind eye on some of the topic of discussion in lieu of fulfilling their job duties when elected to serve their position. Reconstruction of the Southern border’s fence line, updating and correction of migration laws that have been abused, and following protocols for law enforcement.

Japan

Japan’s conservative media has been growing and sounding the alarm on China’s economic giant which is beginning to become a concern for more and more Japanese citizens.

“In a 24-page feature in March, the right-wing Sapio magazine warned that China is set to "buy up Japan", noting how Chinese conglomerates are gobbling up real estate and forests and even eyeing uninhabited islands around Japan's coast” (“Japan,” 2010). Japan itself in the current state PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 19 of the modern world is a perfect example of nationalism in Asia with other countries on the edge of deciding to pursue the same route. Japan’s nationalism led to a growth and development of its own expansion when it was existing as an empire. After the war Japan atrocities and crimes on the international scale have led to the establishment of programs and institution to set parameter for the new Japan. In the 21st century those limitations will become the driving nail to the rise in nationalism in Japan. Shinzo Abe has become a more ominous with policy successes. Within a year of election he avoided any question to passing a law that would help the governments remit for labeling information a secret. Environmental and health information can be labeled as inaccessible to the much of the public where Abe had been criticized for pushing anti whistle blower laws as the media called. But the media within Japan was unlikely to hinder any progress

Abe would be working on. In 2013 Abe implemented a national broadcast agency or NHK. This agency would then determine if information being reported is either trustworthy or false and are subject to rejection. Several journalists have been outcasted and restricted from reporting anymore. Many reporters from the UN and other publications have been expressing concern over

Japan’s new agency and argue against the creation of the agency has suppressing freedom of speech. In 2017 Abe utilized his legislative style by pushing through numerous acts by popularity of votes and expediting processes that would take months or years. He pitched an anti-terrorism bill where the 250 actions would be criminalized, and the purpose was to protect the country during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the Japan’s Federation of Bar Association who was strongly against the bill noted that many of the actions listed in the new bill did not relate to any connection of terrorism such as copying music and along with numerous articles found.

Although the situation seems odd with, he new bill and the listed actions that would essentially criminalize anyone who did any of the action was only a small step to Abe’s main agenda. Abe PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 20 was looking to normalize Japan and revise the constitution that had existed for decades to create a standing army. The constitution was written by American lawmakers and has been an obstacle for the right leaning party of Japan. Abe’s party had been hoping to replace or revise the constitution for more than 60 years but every prime minister before Abe has been unsuccessful.

Abe’s party or known as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) seek to change and rewrite most of the 103 articles; weakening protection to individual rights and to improve the importance of public order, freedoms and to underline the emperor as a center piece to the nation.

The first step to the direction is to revise the article where it set restriction for Japan to raise an army. With the revision pf Article 9 with the banning of creating a standing army Japan they can further help the United States which Washington fully supports in maintaining a military presence in the Asia along with equip themselves with munitions to defend against an increasing threat just of the shores of their country. That threat is Mainland China as they begin to impede and bully other nations in the South East Asia. Abe shares a similar strongman approach which we see with other leaders around the globe such Jair Bolsonaro from Brazil,

Donald J. Trump form the United States and Rodrigo from the Philippines. Voter turnout in Japan has fallen causing the nation to split but for what majority? The voter turnout is already at an miniscule level and doesn’t seem to be improving anytime soon as the years go on. This is what

Abe is wanting to change and starting with the revision of the constitution to save it’s dying nation. With changes in the constitution and hopes to return the emperor to political power, the same image can be used to rally the people as it has done in Japan’s history to unify the country and bring back pride. They want to bring back traditional family values and normalize the way of life to increase their population since the younger generation has no desire to marry and create a family. This is also another form of concern for the country of Japan where the population is PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 21 slowly dying off and as a country, they have the highest elderly population. The country has a decreasing population rate and already Abe’s party is concerned they will be unable to substitute all labor with machines.

India

The world’s biggest democracy and one of the largest populations has developed a trend in securing an identity within their nation. That identity is Hindu nationalism where a surge in

Hindu pride has spread across India. A slow progression since the cast off from colonial rule or occupation, India is close to formally establishing its own identity where Hindu faith has become a significant factor. Hinduism has become one of the biggest religions currently in India has roughly 80 percent of Indians who are now Hindus. It is also important to know that Hindu nationalism has turned into a political statement in support of the current Prime Minister of India who is associated with the Hindu Nationalist Party. The direction the party has gone is the belief that Hindu faith should shape the current state of India and configure its policies to align with the interest of the administrating body. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a Hindu nationalist and has made it very transparent with the public with his reformation of rising organization known as the

RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). Many members of his party refer to the RSS as a version of the Boy Scouts with Hindu values and influence. The RSS practices in Hindu values and civic life while also being trained in familiarity of firearms and participation in anti-Muslim riots throughout India. The RSS is not only open to the younger generation of India but allows membership of all ages regardless of their stature. Within the time of the newly reformed organization, membership of the RSS has doubled in the past 10 years with estimated 5-6 million members in 2016. Many of their members believe the centuries of non-Hindu rule has caused the country to lose a sense of their identity and left them with a weak sense of the heritage and PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 22 culture they are trying to revive back. They motivated the surge and membership of the RSS and their practices will help supplement their knowledge and teach newer generations about Hindu civic values.

In opposition there are liberal Hindu reformers who disagree with the agenda support the idea of colonial rule and the transition to Christianity during the occupation from the British. In order to understand the reasoning to the party’s objective, the ideological roots date back in the

19th century. India’s founding from freedom of British rule began in 1947 and at the same time

India decided to become secular to accommodate for their diverse country. India hold hundreds of ethnic groups and languages where Mahatma Gandhi, one of the founding fathers believed that only a pluralist democracy can keep the country united. Later Hindu nationalist were not supportive of the idea and took measures in their own by assassinating Gandhi in less than a year.

The death of Gandhi halted the idea of opening up a pluralist democracy and secularism took the stage until almost a lifetime later where the topic has been brought to attention. With an elected

Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Modi, many of the minuscule secular parties are trying to present their Hindu nationalist credibility as a way to gain party members since Hindu nationalism is popular with the general public.

For the past five years Hindu nationalism has been in power and mainstreaming values and ways of life that correlate with the belief. For example, you have beef bans and will find no foods containing beef since cows are a sacred animal in Hindu culture. Health and beauty are strongly based on the ancient Hindu traditions where a craze has begun for “Hindu wellness” in the country. The wellness aspect can comparable to the United States where many people adjust their lifestyle for healthy lifestyle or actively pursuing it. The names of city and maps are being changed to be more align or sound with Hinduism with the example of their most Northern city PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 23

named Allahabad. The city was originally built for Muslim Kings during the 16th century and has

had it’s named changed to Prayagraj. Prayagraj refers to a holy site or meaning there is an

existing area of a religious dwelling or special religious significance. Heads of history

department within the city from the local university located in Prayagraj calls the Muslim Kings

or refers to them as invaders who took the land by force and converted Hindu to Islam. Many of

strong sentimental Hindus or historians demand that the history of the city to be revised.

Germany

Germany has been highlighted in the international media since 2017 as election for seats

parliament hit the stage. In September 1st of 2019 the German state held elections in Saxony and

Brandenburg where it resulted in major victories for conservative parties. Most notably the

Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) received majority votes from 9.7% to 24% in Saxony which

was a milestone for the party itself. Historically the party has never seen more than 12% of the

votes even at their highest peaks in previous elections. But with the changing political

environment and the soon to be resigning Chancellor Angela Merkel, it has set opportunities for

the party so push forward their candidate to restore power in parliament. In 2014 the last highest

percentage of votes gained by the party was 12.2% in Brandenburg. Currently the polls listed for

the AfD in Bradenburg are estimated up to 22% which is still less then the results in Saxony but

significant gains are to be expected. “The most profound changes await Chancellor Angela

Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The two state elections are likely to

bring long-simmering tensions in the party to a head about its future direction. The moderate and conservative wings of the CDU, long at odds about a populist challenger to the right, could square off in the aftermaths of the Saxony and Brandenburg ballots” (Baker, n.d.). The numbers PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 24

projected and if they happen to unfold as predicted could expedite the process for Angela

Merkel’s departure and create obstacles for the successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

Is it vital to understand and take the AfD’s estimation in the next election and the full

context about the party. The AfD was founded in 2013 during the emergence of the euro crises

and originally known as a economically conservative party trying to find its place among the

other competitors. In 2014 the party only made a shy appearance as being notice and was not

among the well-known parties already dominating the race. Since the first election the AfD has

transition from economically centralized to focused on the flawed polices pushed by Angela

Merkel where some may deem their views as nationalistic. The jump and popularity gained by the party began in 2016 when it was strongly against Germany’s migration laws and practices allowing refugees to cross over and pass through multiple states to stay in Germany. The AfD

amped up their security rhetoric and highlighted problems with the migration policies during the

same period when sexual attacks perpetuated by migrants which commonly target women. News

headlines and similar occurrences were reported in other neighboring countries who took

migrants in during the migrant crises in 2015. This pushed many individuals who were on the

edge to continue welcoming migrants without any security precautions or begin supporting more

national security measures relative to the same topic. The general attitude towards migrants

became hostile as more occurrences were reported of crimes committed by migrants more

German citizens became aware of the declining cleanliness of their own streets and increasing

costs of their taxes being put to support them. “Since early 2016, the AfD has been a major player in the two states and the former East Germany as a whole. In the 2017 federal election, the

AfD won 20.2 percent in Brandenburg, placing second, and 27 percent in Saxony, placing it first” (Baker, n.d.). PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 25

The concern for the Angela Merkel is not necessarily the increasing gains of the AfD

party. Many of the states where the AfD has been dominating elections such as Brandenburg,

Saxony and Thuringia are hardly significant in regard to where power relies in politics in

Germany. Many of those states reside in the Eastern State where it is not has populous nor are,

they influential of south or west Germany. The real risk for Merkel is the posy election and what

strategies states will use for CDU parties. Many of the parties are fragmented and there are no

easy majorities in parliament. Both Saxony and Brandenburg have even pitched the idea of

working together by creating their own coalition with the AfD meaning wherever the CDU joins

either aligned or against the AfD, the two states will work closely with the AfD. The reasoning of

the two states working together is simply because of the differences at the federal level. Eastern

and Western states have differences in views but also share common interests in shutting down

Angela Merkel’s policies. Many of the parties both left and right disagree with many of Merkel’s

decisions and legislations she helped push and want to see them retracted. The AfD is learning

how to play the game of politics and within the parliamentary systems knowing the mainstream

parties are flocking to the Green party which are also expected to double in size but not has much

when compared to the AfD’s growth. If the Many of the democratic parties, see working with the

AfD could help reclaim defectors of their own party which they lost to the AfD but are weary if

it will be enough to beat the AfD in the medium term after. In short, the parties of Germany will

have to combine to lean to a more centrist right direction in order to have any success in the

election in 2021. The public has made it clear of how they feel currently about Merkel’s polices and until then many of the democratic parties will have to bite into the same rhetoric expressed by the AfD to remain relevant in the coming few terms after 2021.

Turkey PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 26

Nationalism in Turkey has been an ongoing experience to where some even consider it as

being a decisive trend reaching far into the most traditional ideology. “The trend in contemporary

politics cannot be explained by the needs that it satisfies today, or with reference to the prevailing global trend. It is also related to its roots that enabled its emergence and development”

(“Nationalism in Turkey,” n.d.). Nationalism in Turkey has the same resemblance as current new

right populism in pockets around the world but also carries along their own uniqueness that

distinguishes themselves from other countries. Being able to further look into the current state of

nationalism in Turkey along the possible outcomes it can induce, it is important to address its

direction of influence and founding character.

Turkey no doubt has been shaped by nationalism when being compared to other nations

and examples would be drawn from their European counterparts. But what sets Turkey apart

from other countries when developing their own sense of identity is a belated process when put

into perspective. It developed as a chain reaction that began in Europe and spread to the Slavic

nations and then the Balkans. The spread of nationalism coming into Turkey is a result of the

reaction from Europe and instead of having it originate from a new reformed ideology it comes

from the climate of feeling defeated and lingering traces of insecurity and defensive behavior. By

the end of the 19th century and early 20th century the nation of Turkey was created from the

remains of the Ottoman Empire and the preservation of what was left became priority moving

forward. Among the remaining Ottoman scholars, they projected the remanence of the Ottoman

Empire to survive was to shift toward nationalism. There were some other avenues to pursue

such as Westernism, Islamism and of course to carry the same traditions as before was

“Ottomanism”. During the constitutionalism period nationalism received and gained support

within the elites of the ruling parties and pushed its idea of unity known as the Turan Ideal. Turan PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 27

Ideal was something created and developed to unite all Turks on earth under a single flag. The

purpose of this newly created nationalism was a defense ideology. The ideology became critical and created dangerous situations when confronting nationalism making themselves clear that they could not coexist with opposite ideologies. This led to the deportation of Armenians and set up the state to fail when entering the first world war since much of the public was fragmented or factionalized which one of the major consequences that caused Ottoman’s defeat.

Owning up to the aftermath after the war, Turkish scholars revisited the table to review the best course of action after learning from the failures of their previous intellectuals.

“Nationalism ceased to be an intellectuals’ movement and has converted into the defense

ideology of the state. The argument of “the cause of survival” and the anti-western stance, which contemporary nationalism fells back on too often, is a consequence of this hard trauma”

(“Nationalism in Turkey,” n.d.). Nationalism makes it easy to alienate types of individuals that may not be fit for the current state of what a country wants to achieve and often causes divides among populations whether it’s concerning foreign threats, enemies of the state, traitors or conspirators that contribute to the previously mentioned trauma already inflicted.

The prior trauma and events that the Ottoman Empire endured and what was left afterwards are vital components to the founding of the Republic of Turkey. Since the creation of the Republic of Turkey which was entirely made from scratch and much of it was originated from a defensive behavior in considering all non-Muslims as suspicious enemies of the state.

Rather then unite of Turks under a single flag, the country vetted who they wanted to remain and those suitable to their ideology were to be expelled and in some rare cases “annihilated” as described by opponents of Turkey’s administration. Non-Muslims minorities were often harmed physically and discriminated against. Other factors contributed to the expulsion of non-Muslim PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 28

minorities such as the Kurdish uprisings and the emergence of the Russian threat after the Cold

War. We can conclude the creation of the Republic came from a fair share of nationalism and

became an official ideology for Turkey. But the link that connects the Republic of Turkey and the

cause of its manifestation was purely a narrative of defense. Turkey was built on the grounds of prior trauma and learning from the mistakes it made which was underestimating the differences of groups of people it took a stance and shaped itself to ensure the survival of the state. Whether it was agreed upon by the general public or not, the aggressive procedure was inevitable.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s Turkey strayed away from its common practice and allegiance to uphold their defensive narrative when parties from Islamist groups cooperated with conservative parties to seek after “holy allegiance” in the early 90’s and eventually was joined by a left leaning party called the Democratic Left Party (DSP) late 1990’s. Eventually the coalition of parties formed together with the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) or Justice and Development

Party. The coalition of parties were all in the “People’s Alliance” (PA) during the election of

2018 but during the period of election the PA reverted back to a more nationalist rhetoric. The retreat to nationalism marked the last few years of AKP administration over the country and bears with it the very same values as the Nationalistic Turkey that existed before the 1990’s and the founding of the Republic. The AKP needed a way to recapture political power and to establish a safeguard in the event they are threatened to lose political leverage. Nationalism was the best choice regarding having a simple yet strong apparatus to use for creating a perception that they are being threatened once again from foreign enemies and domestic traitors.

Britain

In 2016 the United Kingdom voted on a United Kingdom European Union Referendum on a decision to leave the EU which assembled 51.9% of the population voting to leave the EU. PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 29

Many of the voter felt they have not been represented well and that many of the principle

decision are primarily based on the rest of the population of the EU and never in favor of the UK.

This section will discuss the treatment within regulatory bodies such as the EU and dive deeper

into the context of why the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 and the evidence they have been

using to justify and show they are not entirely going to be putting themselves in a disposition. To

put in perspective there 66 million people living in the UK and 508 million others in the EU

combined. Many of them are tired seeing principle decision being made on behalf of the EU

rather than the UK. The EU took away decision making by the people by emplacing regulatory

bodies particularly in the EU commission. These regulatory bodies have been increasing the

number of people wanting to reverse the process of the EU’s decision making in the UK and has

become the primarily motivating factor. Prior to the voting on the referendum there was a data

showing many UK citizens listed Europe as their most highly ranked problem to Britons.

The first reason was simple for voting on leaving the EU and that was economics within

the United Kingdom. “Opponents of the EU argued that it is a dysfunctional economic entity.

The EU failed to address the economic problems that had been developing since 2008… for

example, 20% unemployment in southern Europe” (“3 Reasons Brits Voted For Brexit,” n.d.).

The difference between Britons and the those living in Southern Europe and Germany was they

enjoyed the low employment rates averaging at 4.2%. Many countries of Southern Europe have not seen any gradual positive change within the last few years. Since the economy has since been idle and been in more of a stagnated state in the rest of Europe, the UK being connected and heavily depended on the EU cannot improve their economy with an inactive state. The other side of the argument and why it would be wise to remain in the EU is sure economic disaster.

Although remaining in the EU where the economy is idle, and no indicators have been seen or PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 30

show that it will become active again show no promises of improving the unemployment rate in

the EU. It made little sense to Britons to vote on remaining in the EU. Another danger to the UK for leaving the EU is Europe to put up trade barriers between them and the UK but Germany having the most commerce in Europe would be losing one of their biggest export targets.

Additionally, the last scenario Germany wants to face is starting a trade war with Britain.

Opponents of Brexit also stress that London’s banks would relocate out of the UK and flee towards Frankfurt. But the reality of being able to move so many assets across a channel and reestablish their foundation is logistically impossible. There are clients around the world who visit London and many priority individuals who are in finance from other nations such as China,

United States and India. Just as many other countries in Asia they have benefited from tourism and shipping and that same industry creates opportunities for the UK and it’s the clients that matter. The current financial relationships were not created a decade ago and were in place for early two centuries where the EU shapes the financial reality it wants. If London’s banks were to hypothetically leave and move to Frankfurt, the closet external financial center they would have is New York and would be the closest to Europe. Europe needs a financial center in London and will not lock it out even if the UK left the EU.

The increase in nationalism sentiment is another factor and source of cause across the

United Kingdom. Growing distrust in institutions, trade, defense and finance have been rising in tensions to a pint where these institutions no longer serve a productive purpose. The same institutions that take away control from individual countries. That very fear and mistrust of the

EU has made many Britons believe Brexit is the only feasible choice as a last-ditch effort to regain control of their country. “The immigration crisis in Europe was a trigger. Some EU leaders argued that aiding the refugees was a moral obligation. But EU opponents saw PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 31

immigration as a national issue, as it affected the internal life of the country” (“3 Reasons Brits

Voted For Brexit,” n.d.). The crises only added more resentment for remaining apart of the EU and is forced to follow compliance with the ruling the EU commission decides. In a sense the EU

believes they have an understanding of nationalism but time after time attempts to retain

nationality as a culture but also takes away power of individual countries to make principle

decision on their own. The necessary decision making to choose the path their country wishes to

go down upon.

The political leadership state in the UK is at a deep loss and the some of the “leave”

voters had rejected both Labor and Conservative parties. When the leaders of Conservative and

Labor parties endorsed remaining with the EU, they saw many a majority of their voters turn

against them showing outrage with their party leaders. The UK has a current issue with having political leaders representing the public and their voter by making decision for their own ambitions rather than for the people. Member of either parties were drawn to join third party in a effort to pass the Brexit deal. Causing a three-way opposition on the subject matter and struggling to create a suitable compromise. Both Conservative and Labor parties are considered hostile to the interest of the majority voters against the EU. The financial industry’s recklessness and unaccountability has caused obstacles for much of the population. “It’s vital to understand that Brexit was a vote against the British elite. Voters thought politicians, business leaders, and intellectuals had lost their right to control the system. Believing the elite had contempt for their values for their nationalism and interests” (“Britain leaving the European Union (Brexit),” n.d.).

The same shift that is occurring in the West, more specifically the United States is where a new leadership is beginning to attack both sides of leadership and exposing the faulty promises that were made to the people, that same shift is now happening the London. PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 32

France

Racing to the top in France and gaining popularity to the point where the current French president Emmanuel Macron had to mitigate the damage control after Marine Le Pen’s party gained the most votes in the French election into the European Parliament in May 2019. Marine

Le Pen and the party she is currently leading has been gaining popularity over the years as the next major conservative party in France, she stood as one of the two candidates to emerge and walk away with a victory during the first round of the French Presidential election. After the first and second round during the election, it sent a shockwave throughout France and many capitals of the European Union where a perception of Marine Le Pen has been viewed as someone that instills fear but fascination. In the final round Marine Le Pen lost the election to Emmanuel

Macron in the second round, but Marine Le Pen also was the cause of a rising popularity in young French citizens to come running to support her party years later. Many of the values and rhetoric she represented during the French election put a split among the population on choosing to remain as France just as before in the European Union, or to join Marine Le Pen and make

France Independent from the European Union where they have felt the EU has failed them in ensuring security and financial prosperity for the people. Marine Le Pen has been making advances in the recent 6 months and have been firing up her target audience and often enthusiast of hers refer to have a resonant voice, booming, and her attire she wears generally red is showing her patriotism to the French people. “Her supporters traveled to the Zénith arena in Paris's 19th arrondissement, a bold act in itself because the area is full of immigrants and the FN doesn't want to see any of them traipsing onto French soil. "France for the French," Ms. Le Pen shouted from the Zénith stage. "I will protect you. My first act as president will be to reinstate France's borders.”” (Rise of Marine Le Pen, n.d.). PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 33

Ms. Le Pen, savvy populist at 48 expressed all the things her followers wanted to see as many of them come bearing the French flag to all her rallies and often sing into the La

Marseillaise, the French national anthem. The song has made several appearances generally at her rallies and protests the current French president Macron. The anthem was written in 1792 as a mobilization of the common people and call toa rms to attack the French tyranny and any foreign invasion threating the peace of the state. At the time the Austrians and the once living

French King at the beginning of the revolution as the enemy. In todays situation the people have deemed the EU, foreign migrants, radical Islam, big government and the globalization system as the enemy of the people. Marine Le Pen as made it clear that her rivals both Emmanuel Macron and Francois Fillon are pushing “savage globalization”. “Wild cheers. "Behind mass immigration, there is terrorism." More wild cheers. The burkini "is not a religious garment but an

Islamist provocation." Cheers, followed by the crowd chanting, "On est chez nous" – This is our home” (Rise of Marine Le Pen, n.d.).

On May 26 of 2019 an Elabe poll shows the Rassemblement National or also known previously as the National Front holding 23.6% of the vote which is just over one percentage in front of Emmanuel Macron’s La Republique En Marche standing at 22.4%. The result was a lost for Macron and showed how competitive Marine Le Pen has become since the election of 2017.

La pen lead her candidate Jordan Bardella to turn the election into a phase of questioning on

Marcon’s first two initial years of president and bring in supporters to express their rejection of his economic reforms that seem to be in favor of pro-European policies rather than focus on helping the common people of France. Le Pen addressed her supporters; ““The French people have sent a very clear message and a lesson in humility” to Macron, Bardella told supporters.

“It’s him and his politics that have been rejected.”” (“Far-right wins French vote in EU election, PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 34

but Macron limits damage,” 2019). Le Pen hopes to build a alliance within Europe where other

right leaning parties have been rising to the top in their politics and being recognized on a

international scale just as Le Pen has. These other leaders pursuing the same goal are Italy’s

deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, representative in Germany and Austria and other parties

who have agreed that EU nations have surrendered too much sovereignty to Brussels.

Spain (Catalonia)

Until recently it was to be believed that Spain would not be affected by the surge of

nationalistic movements and opponents of the movement describe the movement as an insidious

evil. “So far, resurgent nationalism across the West accounts for the United Kingdom’s exit from

the European Union, or Brexit in political parlance; the rise of virulent anti-immigrant

movements in France, Hungary, and the Netherlands; and U.S. President Donald Trump’s

election on an “America first” agenda.” (Özkırımlı, 2019). The Catalan crises is one of the key factors leading to the rise of conservative groups in Spain. The financial crash of 2008 and the recession that followed had been felt in region like Catalonia and was ever more reluctant to share the revenues from the taxes with the rest of the country causes tensions between rich and poor. A separatist sentiment developed and was both used by politicians of wither sides in order to advance their own ambitions. The president of Catalonia between 2010 and till 2015 Artur

Mas provided an opportunity to raise his electoral treasures by breaking traditional practices to promote separatism. Mariano Rajoy which was the prime minister at the time was the leader of his own conservative party called the Partido Popular or the (People’s Party). He made the intention of suppressing the movement of separatism using a court decision in 2010 by taking away ability for Catalonia to become more self-rule. PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 35

To provide background to the situation of Spain and Catalonia, the region of Catalonia

had tried to attain independence from the Spain, but their chance was suspended for roughly

seven months after trying to break away from Madrid in 2017. October of 2019 the Supreme

Court of Spain had sentenced the region of Catalonia and with their politicians and supporting

activist to serve time in prison between nine to thirteen years. The sentence was given for the

attempt of making a bid to break away from Spain and other who were not leading the movement

were fine in lieu of serving prison time. Catalonia was a semi-independent region of Spain and

has a history that dates to almost a thousand years. The region holds most of the region is

wealthy with 7.5 million inhabitants living there. The region has their own language, parliament

and even a flag with a national anthem to complement it. The region provides its own law

enforcement and public services to remain self-efficient without any assistance from Spain. For the longest time the Catalans have long argued that they pay too much in taxes and much of those taxes are sent to the poorer regions of Spain. In an agreement to remain independent form

Spain while being able to dictate their own law and policies, Catalonia still does pay tribute to

Spain in allowance for their partial independence. All taxes are then controlled by Madrid and along with the amount of additional subsidiary fees Catalonia pays. In 2010 Spain had changed their autonomy policy for the region of Catalonia by taking away privileges they originally had and without any involvement from Catalan political leaders. In response the Catalan leadership in support of protesting the decision were jailed along with supporters. In 2017 the Supreme

Court of Spain in a referendum had reviewed a case proposed by Catalan political leaders and declared that Spain’s court decision to undermine the autonomy of Catalonia was illegal.

Now that the verdict has come out there has been a split in the support of Spain’s population either in support of the Catalonia region and the other half in support of Spain. The PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 36 verdict of the Supreme Court of Spain has sent the country in its own crises and has driven itself into division. After the story came out that Spain had jailed separatists’ leasers for trying to push support and to vote on secession, mass protest broke out in Spain. Violence among the population had ignited and Artur Mas had only condemned the violence and asked for the people of Catalonia to peacefully support the movement of section and not to take to the streets and commit violent acts. Mas also mention that those participating in the protest will need to realize the consequences that could be delivered upon them. The statement only created more unrest for the region of Spain and the hundreds of thousands of people took their chances to gather and oppose Spain’s ruling in 2010. “An estimated 525,000 people gathered in Barcelona to protest against the sentence and in the evening, there were violent clashes as separatists hurled rocks and fireworks at police, who responded with teargas and rubber bullets” (Jones, 2019). Mas then later commented that Spain would then need to go through another referendum in order to settle the decision of session once and for all since the support for separation as risen up to 48.7% in

Catalonia and in recent it was rare for any parties to even get close to achieving 50%. “Artur Mas suggested that voters could be asked two questions in the referendum: whether they wanted to renegotiate their relationship with the central government with a new statute of regional autonomy, or whether they favored independence” (Jones, 2019). He also added that its harder to come close to a solution if it does not involve a referendum where people of either sides wish to decide the future of the country whether it is for or against separation.

Conclusion

Much of the world is experiencing a rise in more nationalistic parties and many people flocking ever to more conservative groups both politically and socially in many countries. With the success of many conservative and national groups becoming successful in the recent years, PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 37

we see many nations developing a nationalism policy platform and fueling it is the exacerbating

process of the flaws and weaknesses that have been addressed from globalization. In retrospect,

globalization acts as a double-edged sword where on one edge it promotes and manifest from the

spread of cultural, political, economic and ideological influences that have vastly prevented

conflict among many states. “Prospects for peace and stability for the country and the region on

the whole are far greater with a greater international presence on the ground, including through

international organizations, embassies, NGOs, foreign companies, and ideally through eventual

membership to NATO, EU and UN” (Sabanadze, 2013). But over time this has made Western

Europe and like other parts of the world, are becoming more cautious in treatment towards

migrants and policies revolving around their security from foreign and domestic threats. An example would be from the recent migrants in Western Europe, primarily Muslim migrants have been labeled as a higher security threat to states in the EU despite the amount of emphasis put into assimilating them into the mainstream societal life. Many changes in policies domestically have been arranged to help streamline the process of integration into a new state.

Many countries around the world all welcomed the idea of multiculturalism and was adopted by several western states which put a huge emphasis on respecting all types of people.

Accommodating certain cultural differences and practices into a more prevalent lifestyle and

dominant institutions. But the process of integrating different types of people along with cultural differences has caused states to focus too much on assimilation of people while neglecting their own national citizens. Majority of the West which consist the United States, Britain, France and

other suffered from terrorist attacks in the past few years. “There seems to be a growing backlash

against multiculturalism which is blamed for fostering ethnocultural difference and undermining

social cohesion of increasingly diverse and pluralist states” (Sabanadze, 2013). The increasing PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 38

immigration and the activity that would be associated with globalization has generated new

sources of tensions among the states that have made policies encouraging assimilation of new

migrants. New problematic difficulties have come from the management of the cultural and

ethnic diversity in democratic states creating a divide in the population and among leaders

regarding to the integration of new people without alienating or neglecting their national citizens.

This is where the globalization system is and the narrative of acceptance for all types of people are truly challenging nationalism.

The political significance and the essence of nationalism must rely upon communities of different sizes to retain the same unity and cohesion to survive as the changing international conditions begin to challenge them. Globalization through the increasingly growing immigration makes the achievement of reaching full cohesion and unity virtually impossible. It introduces new threats and security obstacles that make it tough to address using tradition defense mechanisms and security guidelines. The international community does agree that a full disengagement from the globalization system could cause problematic issues and de-stability making the choice to drop it completely not an option. The framework and the amount of investment that has been put into the structure is too great to lose and this causes a dilemma for the majority of states to ultimately decide how to continue using the perk pf globalization but also how to minimize the risks in the event the framework begins to fall unexpectantly.

This brings the question of the future of globalization and the challenges it currently is facing all many states begin to alter and switch their policies to more nationalistic values and

stray more and more over time away from the current system that has been the staple for so long.

It has become apparent that states have a limit on their capacity and have taken an impact on

reduction in regulation of economies, ability to provide social security for citizens, and loyalty PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 39 from the population which has been experiencing a gradual decline. The significance of the wellness of the current state is relevant to the relationship between nationalism and globalization since nationalism has a considerable link as to why states within the international system on taking a more nationalistic policy platform. Some have varying circumstances on their own unique situation and reasons of changing policy direction. Some states have experienced trauma form historical events such as Turkey and India and since attaining full sovereignty of their own state during different time periods, what they grew a desire for was creating an identify for themselves. Other states have had to adapt and adjust to changing dynamic political environment from unwanted policies or legislation passed designed to encourage help people from different parts of the world to transition into a new state.

Many leaders such as President Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Modi, and other discussed in this paper all blame foreign factors for the decline of the state of their nations and will put matters in their own hands to take control and promised to rive the prosperity if their own country. Unless the international community can fix the current globalization system, the trend will carry long and far into the future if compromises are not brough to the table. The tends are important to look at and just as discussed in the case studies we have to breakdown the full background context of each country and trace the issues back to where they are originating from.

The answers that seems to be the underlining problem is globalization and the walls built around many pro-regulatory leaders have turned their own people either against them or towards someone else that will fix the problem. “Certainly, the benefits of the post-war liberal order, though substantial, have not been shared equally. The consequences for workers in industrialized democracies, exposed to the so-called “China effect,” may have been particularly dislocating.

But why is the anti-global backlash happening now?” (“Why is the anti-global backlash PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 40

happening now?,” n.d.). It comes form the shrinking ability to properly and effetely manage

globalization as a system since many agreements are in a sense a figment of imagination that

doesn’t hold any state accountable unless they surrender their sovereignty to a regulatory body.

The post war order vastly benefited form a circle of cooperation which increased the number of

countries on negotiating terms by the creation of IGOs such as NATO, UN and the WTO

designed to prevent conflict and to put areas of discussion on civil terms. By 1950 to modern day

the number of institutions related to the framework that5 was built in the beginning of the post

war period have expanded from two hundred to more than seven thousand. This embedded the

global economy and connected the system of regulation to a international level and the having

the ability to do that within fifty years is seen as a miracle.

In some ways the system worked too well for what it was designed, and as more

interconnected states became and beginning joining the global economy, the ability to take a

consensus became more difficult. Over time more problems expanded and became more

complicated which breached deep into domestic societal level of several states. This is where the

interdependence movement took place and in response the demand of sharper adjustments

spiked. The result was the stagnation of institution and soon the power of global governance

dropped, and the international community became fragmented to where the pint where no

progress was being made. “The consequences have been severe. Our inability to contain the

2008-2009 financial crisis cost trillions in household wealth and millions of jobs worldwide. We

have not yet put in place adequate safeguards to prevent another crisis. Our failure to contain, let

alone stop, the wars in the Middle East has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.” (“Why is

the anti-global backlash happening now?,” n.d.). The weak refugee processing in place for the international system failed to migrate the displaced masses fleeing from conflict into Western PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 41

Europe. Despite some progress being made there is still the concern for dealing with global changes to the climate and population that are affected by the changing environment such as droughts, fires, and flooding. The concept for dealing with problems on that large of a scale was a brilliant idea but in practice and as seen from the type of cooperation around the world, it proves how far the international community must go before reaching that goal. Failures in managing global issues have also backfired and began a movement around the globe causing a rise in more nationalistic gaining support and changing the policy platform of their states. The globalization system was already hitting obstacles within the last ten years and can only persevere the issues if it has the full support and cooperation of all entities existing in it. Because the system was unable to address the problems it has caused nations around the world to peruse their own paths of improvement and those action is what will weaken and destroy the very foundations of the global order. Gridlocking the system hinders the managing process to tend to international issues and leaves the world fragmented and exposed.

It is no surprise that states all over the world are up taking a more national policy platform and symptoms of that phenomenon could come from the ability of the global order to resolve problems. How likely would it have been if there was no refugee crisis in Europe if the international system had been prepared to deal with such an event. How would much of the world remained if there wasn’t a spike in terrorist attacks, sexual assaults particularly in Europe

There would not have also been a surge in rising popularity of conservative parties in Western

Europe. How would President Donald Trump’s election results have changed if the workers of the idling rust belt had not lost their jobs. There are numerous examples that can be highlighted in ways the international system was not prepared to handle these new situations. The way the outlook fothe future seem to come out to is that if the current system cannot make comprises PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 42 with states choosing to separate themselves from the globalization system and continue to pursue their own agendas there may be a reconstruction in the framework of how the global system is setup.

PHENOMENON OF TRENDING NATIONALISTIC POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD 43

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