Political Trends: Nationalism, Populism, Anti-Globalization - Essay Sample

Introduction

There has been political development in Nationalism, Populism and Anti-globalization. These trends have continued being popular in the recent past. The concepts affect how different countries interact with each other (Franzese, 2019). It is a base in which foreign policies are made. There are various ways in which these three terms reinforce each other. There is a need to understand the three concepts thoroughly so that one can be able to know where they support each other. In this discussion, I will explore the meaning of each term on its own, and then later, I will show how they reinforce each other.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Nationalism

Nationalism is the ideology which seeks to promote the interest of that particular country. The aim is to ensure that the nations get self-governance, that is, to ensure that it is sovereign. It holds that there should be no external interference in the making of the policies of the country. Popular sovereignty shows that the country is the only right source of power (Mearsheimer, 2002). Nationality aims to create a nation whose people share a collective identity. It can be possible to share the same identity when the people are sharing a common language, culture, religion and also a common history. An example of a Nationalist is the current president of the United States Donald Trump, while in a rally in 2018, he declared that he is a nationalist in Texas. While people were electing him in 2016, they thought that he is a populist. It may also be possible that he was a populist then he preferred shifting to a nationalist.

Populism

Populism is an ideology which ensures that the idea of "the people" is the one that is followed. It usually places a contrast between the people and "the elite." The term started being used in the 19th century. It has been used by many political parties in the push of their manifesto. Political science shows that the society is divided alongside two main groups which are "the pure people" against "the corrupt elite" There are two sides of populism, that is the left and the right. The idea developed from the 19th century and from then it has been used by various political parties and movements (Simmons & Elkins, 2004). The force to bring change comes from the people. It is the ideology that led to the formation of the People's Party in the year 1892 in the United States. The parry's demands were later adopted as law showing the capability of populism. There was a constitutional amendment of the progressive tax system. Direct democracy also became a reality through popular initiatives and referenda. The term populism is most of the times misused to fit in the context which the politicians would like it to fit.

Anti-Globalization

Anti-globalization is on the rise. It is a term used for the countering of globalization. Globalization brought about inter-connectedness of regions those which were near or far. Modern technologies, for example, computers help the acceleration of social relationships while making them also flexible. Information can be transferred much quicker. It usually makes the world quite a small place for interactions and doing business. There was a surprise in the Seattle World Trade Organization (WTO) conference when there was an abrupt disruption by some protests. The violence was one instance to show the anti-globalization movement, which had been glowing for years (Franzese, 2019). Six months earlier, there was another protest which was organized to interrupt the G8 Economic Summit, that was held in Cologne Germany. A question which arises is why there is a rise in anti-globalization while people still recognize the advantages which are brought about by globalization. The critics of globalizations base their arguments on several issues, one of them being opposition to multinational corporations and also some countries have unlimited political power. Most of them do not oppose globalization in general; they call for reforms such that even as globalization continues, there is a better democratic representation.

How Nationalism Populism and Anti-globalization Have Reinforced Each Other

The Importance of Anti-Globalization to Nationalism

Nationalism and Anti-globalization are on the rise and have been reinforcing each other. Most of the nationalists' leaders support the anti-globalization movements. Globalization and Nationalism have been a subject under debate for quite a long time. Both concepts are essential, but it has not been found if one can be both a nationalist and at the same time support globalization. Talking about globalization makes people see it as the one which diminishes nationalism as it usually destroys culture. The anti-globalist shows how globalization affects nationalism in different ways like the way of clothing (Mearsheimer, 2002). One will find people in different parts of the world wearing Adidas clothing while others are watching western movies. In different parts of the world, one is likely to find someone speaking the Americanized English Slang. One wonders whether globalization is fair, and if it is, why the culture of the western is getting dominant over all other cultures in the world. Technology and science developed in the West. When other people started using the technology developed in the western countries, that it is the time that they also carried their values and hence affecting nationalism. If there was no borrowing of technology and all the other products, then there would be no the sharing of culture and values also. Globalization leads to the use of a standard culture such that those who do not conform to it seems unmodernized.

The dominance of other people's culture is what led to the need of anti-globalization. The anti-globalists believed there are many evils which globalization brought, among them being the weakening of nationalism. Globalism has led to a situation whereby the current events in a country are shaped by something which is happening many miles away. The reason behind this phenomenon is because people can now share information quickly through the internet and also televisions. Generally, the adverse effects of globalization is what brings the need of anti-globalization and hence the need for nationality. These concepts are related to each other. They should not be excluded from each other while looking at the advantages and the disadvantages.

Globalization at various instances has attempted to influence the sovereignty of other nations. Some countries are threatened that if the citizens do not support a specific candidate in an election, then there will be an effect on the products which are sold in their country, they will not be able to export their produce. With the age of globalization, State sovereignty is becoming a thing of the past (Walt,1998). Most of the times, the poor counties are the ones which are controlled by the rich ones. In most cases, the country which gives the other one foreign aid have a preferred candidate in every election. They usually understand that if the candidate of the other political divide wins an election, it may lead to the country losing its interests in the weaker state.

Populism and Anti-globalization

Populism also has become popular over the recent past, and it is a current trend. There is a high interconnectedness between populism and anti-globalization. One explanation is that populism could have resulted from globalization which benefited some while it did not help others. The result was backlash on losers, and these are the people who are supporting anti-globalization (Simmons & Elkins, 2004). Those who were left by globalization and mostly the white who were working in former massive manufacturing districts are the ones who are populists. The interrelationship between the two can be understood better while looking at the financial crash of the year 2008 and the impact of economic failure. Still, in 2019, we are affected by the effects of the 2008 financial failure.

A well-known populist Donald Trump mainly attracted support from many populists groups like the Tea Party. He mentioned many outlandish populist claims which support anti-globalization like the building a wall in the southern border to keep away Mexican immigrants. His tactic was to place himself against the elites and Washington. He won the election on a populist platform showing how the anti-globalization groups had more followers. Trump has tried to disengage the country as much as possible from the international community. One thing that he has so far done is the cancelling of the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) and also the Paris agreement, which was on climate change (Copelovitch & Pevehouse, 2019). One of Trump promise which he has been careful about is a trade war with China and also exiting from WTO or NATO.

"We are for local, against global!" These words were from another populist Marine Le Pen, who was a candidate for Presidency in France. With the rise in the populists in the developing world, one sees as if there is no future for the European Union and other economic trade organizations. There is a looming trade war, and it seems it is being fuelled by the very countries which advocated for free trade in the past. The current populism is more of a symptom than a cause (Simmons & Elkins, 2004). The symptoms are brought about by the imbalances of globalization. The symptoms are aggravated even further by high debts and low growth without any structural reforms.

Populism and Nationalism

More often, people use populism ideas interchangeably with nationalism ideas. Even researchers and populism political analysts go ahead to confuse people. They are not the same, but most of their arguments are the same. They, therefore, reinforce each other, especially in their opposition to globalization. Both shows that globalization has led to adverse effects. However, nationalists and populists arguments on globalization are different (Copelovitch & Pevehouse, 2019). The two groups usually give various reasons, and their course is different. One should understand the difference between populism and nationalism first to be able to know how they reinforce each other (Walt,1998). One cannot say that the two concepts support each other while his understanding is that they are the same. All populists are not nationalists, and at the same time, all nationalists are not populists. But they reinforce each other since both parties are against globalization. They usually support anti-globalization movements.

Conclusion

The trend of increase in Nationalism, populism and Anti-globalization this year and over the recent past is worrying. Scholars have argued that this is what brings some evils in the word in most cases. There are various wars which resulted from nationalism in the past. Some of those wars include xenophobia, world wars, jingoism, holocausts, among others. People hide in the word nationalism and assume that others do not have the right to the country. The trend has grown since the leaders themselves are fueling it. In the United States, the president has a call to "Make America Great Again."On the other hand, Britain, Brexit used the phrase "take back", that is, from the European Union. There is a rise of other Nationalists leaders in different parts Xi Jinping in China and Narendra Modi of India. However, the three terms are crucial to the development of foreign policies. They are used in understanding diplomatic relations and what needs to be considered when dealing with a particular country. Politicians also use them in the formation of political strategies and alliances. For example, Trump decided to use a populist ideology to be able to win more voters but later changed to a nationalist to include himself in "the elites."

How Corruption is Shaping Democracy...