Quite often we hear how nationalism is dangerous. Bad. Wrong. It has negative connotations, and is associated with both the world wars. If you want to see how far the SJW poison has spread google nationalism. Negative images and Nazi flags abound. Yet nationalism is rising across the world. Brexit and Trump are two clear examples. Also, nationalist governments have been elected in Austria, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Catalonia has a separatist movement that appears to be growing in strength. So is nationalism really that bad? And why is it on the rise?

A Look Back at History

Let us examine World War One. Surely the clearest case that shows nationalism is bad? Different countries, each with a notion of their superiority, squaring up to each other and being belligerent. Eventually it spilled over in to open war. But was it really nationalism? Most of the countries involved had some kind of Empire. Britain certainly did. France had overseas territories. Russia had a land empire, as did Austria Hungary. The Ottoman empire had held sway over the middle east, parts of North Africa and Europe. Germany had some colonies but badly wanted an empire. Britain was afraid of losing hers. Russia was always looking to expand, and draw in more Slavic peoples. The Ottomans wanted to win back territory, and vie for more land with Russia.

It was this imperialism that led to tensions between the powers. Ironically it was when national borders and the right to national self-determination were ignored that conflict arose. Austria Hungary had unilaterally annexed Bosnia in 1908. Balkan states had fought for their independence from the Ottomans during the 1870s. As you can imagine the Balkan states, in particular Serbia, were not best pleased. This was all wrapped up with international treaties between the big powers. Oh yes. There followed further conflict during the Balkan war of 1912 again by Balkan states against the Ottomans. These conflicts and tensions helped set the scene for 1914. It is no surprise that the post war peace treaties contained clauses stating that (almost) every nation had the right to self-determination. They realised then that not respecting borders or not allowing people to rule themselves led to conflict. The 14 points of Woodrow Wilson called for the redrawing of European borders on ethnic lines (racist!). Lesson one for the EU.

Add to this nations forming large alliance systems. This meant that when one country went to war then others were duty bound to follow. Britain got suckered in to this with the Belgium treaty. Russia was allied with France to form a “cordon sanitaire” around Germany. Russia was also allied with Serbia. Germany was allied with Austria Hungary. This meant when Serbia went to war with Austria Hungary the rest were duty bound to follow. Instead of a small local conflict you had a world war. Some say the West died in 1917. I’m finding it harder and harder to find reasons to disagree. But flash forward to today. We are in the giant NATO alliance. Which needs to find something to do. Oh I know, Russia. A new bogeyman is needed. Where once it was Germany, now it is Russia. Hillary Clinton and pals were hell bent on conflict with Russia before her fall from grace. “Bombs away” Obama wasn’t much better.

Now the EU has its own army under the guise of PESCO. Where is it pointed? Muh Russia. Accusations of rigging elections and votes are bandied around by the globalists. But hang on. Wasn’t nationalism supposed to cause conflict? The likes of Blair tell us we need to be signed up to big power blocs of countries. You mean like in 1914? Or the Cold War, where we came close to all out nuclear war in 1962 with the Cuban Missile crisis? Sparked off by that other globalist interloper that disregards nations and borders, Communism. More on this later. The EU foolishly meddled in the Ukraine. Not nationalism. The EU. Conflict resulted and thousands of deaths later a civil war continues. Lesson number two for the EU.

So on to World War Two. Surely now it was nationalism? No. Once again globalist blocs that did not respect nations are at the heart of it. As mentioned the post war peace treaties allowed self-determination for all nations except one. Germany. Territory was removed and given to France, among others. Huge reparations payments were demanded to help the allies pay for their war debts. These were akin to the amounts demanded for the “Brexit bill.” The Germans were forced to sign the treaty. The economy was beggared, Germany humiliated. France sent troops in to the Ruhr to ensure reparations payments were met. Hyperinflation took hold wiping out savings. It was against this background that “you know who” began his rise to power. The treaty was a huge propaganda weapon. People felt that politicians had betrayed them. There was the idea of the “stab in the back.” Lesson number three for the EU.

But surely the national socialists were acting upon nationalist principles? Well not really. It was back to imperialism. The national socialists, and you know who in particular, wanted “lebensraum” or living space for the “volk.” They were obsessed with racial theory, one might even say identity politics. Hatred of the Jews was a driving force (seems strangely familiar). As well as in Germany many lived in Eastern Europe and so were a target. Who the volk were was narrowly defined. Those who were “Aryan” and had blonde hair and blue eyes. The Jews and others races such as gypsies were defined as other, and the enemy. Jews were banned from working. Women were banned from state jobs. Making large parts of your workforce redundant is not advancing the cause of the nation. Neither is invading other countries and throwing lives away for pointless goals. Some estimates put German military dead at 5.3 million. The flower of the nation’s youth, less than 30 years after WW1. Nationalist? Hardly. Add to this the millions deliberately killed by the regime. A nationalist government does not destroy a nation’s greatest asset, its people. The Nazis are better described as ethnocentric. Damage to the economy, unemployment and death were irrelevant to the overall cause of antisemitism and lebensraum. It cost Germany dear. (There are also good arguments to say Nazism was left wing, not right.)

This is why I laugh with derision when people accuse Trump and his supporters of being “Nazis.” Over 12 months and no death camps. Trump promises and is delivering growth in the economy and jobs. No territorial expansion. A refusal to be drawn in to foreign conflicts. Most Trump supporters do not want any more foreign wars, especially in the Middle East. That is why they worried when Trump fired off a few missiles at Syria. He recognised Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish Israeli state. He is also being tough on North Korea as if they get a viable nuclear missile they could hit the USA, killing citizens. Trump wants to avoid deaths. He won’t sacrifice the people of the US on the altar of ideology. Hillary “Benghazi” Clinton? I’m not so sure.

Speaking of North Korea brings me on to Communism. Communism killed an estimated 100 million in the 20th Century. Again it is an ideology that does not respect borders and is expansionist. It is avowedly globalist and seeks a worldwide revolution. So the USSR had no issue with taking over Eastern Europe after WW2. China had no worries over invading Tibet. North Korea quite happily builds nukes to threaten its neighbours. Under Communism the people are not valued. They are subservient to the state, much like national socialism. The result is forced labour and death camps. Once again there is a bogeyman, capitalists in place of Jews. Religious freedoms are clamped down on. “Wrongthink” is suppressed and people are exiled to Siberia. Castro locked up all the gays. But hey, it’s that nationalism that is really dangerous.

More recently we have Islamic terrorism. Guess what? It’s another international ideal that doesn’t respect nations or borders. ISIS ran amok over Iraq and Syria. They were partly enabled by those wonderful globalists Bush and Blair. They did not respect Iraq’s borders and once again became imperialist. The people of Iraq suffered, and UK and US service men and women (there are two genders) lost their lives. A power vacuum ensued and in stepped the Islamists. Their goal is to create a Caliphate across the Middle East, Africa and in to Europe. They won’t stop there either. India and Asian states such as the Philippines are also in their sights. Once again there are mass killings, terror attacks, human rights violations, religious repression and destruction of culture. Palmyra is just one example. The evil Assad didn’t destroy ancient relics. He also celebrated Christmas in Damascus. Islamist movements continue to spring up, dedicated to the overthrow of legitimate governments. More innocents continue to die as weak willed leftist politicians once again sacrifice their people on the altar of ideology. “Diversity is our strength.” “Refugees welcome.” “Open borders.” But remember, nationalism is bad.

So Why is Nationalism on the Rise Now?

We have had decades of globalism. Identity of nation states and peoples have been worn away. Partly this is because borders have been ignored. Immigration has been relentlessly high. Vast numbers of people who are culturally very different and do not share the values of the host nation are being imported. Many see their society rapidly changing and not for the better. Enclaves form and integration does not take place. In fact many try and change the host nation to become more the country they have left. They obviously don’t get irony. Add to this large doses of cultural Marxism that tells you up is down and black is white. If anyone complains they are called a racist, bigot, fascist, etc. This despite four terror attacks in 2017 alone, and seven more foiled.

People are rebelling against this. The first step to curbing immigration is to have real borders. But with globalists in charge that cannot be done. So you get the Brexit and Trump votes. The EU open borders policy had clearly failed, but they refused to change. Because of ideology they kept ploughing on regardless. Part of British culture is a sense of fair play and forming an orderly queue. When migrants arrive and immediately get benefits and housing despite others waiting years on council lists this antagonises people. When the supposed “child” migrants arrived, and looked to be in their 30s and 40s this wound people up even more. They saw people trying to obtain something they weren’t entitled to by deception. They saw the compassion of the British people being abused. When they complained the “racist” word was brought out again.

There was also an overriding sense that politicians were not listening. Look.at the antics from the Lords and others. For decades people complained about immigration. They pointed out the impact on jobs, wages, housing, “Our NHS,” schools, etc. All to no avail. Wages were low and job security less due to an endless oversupply of labour from the EU. This hit the poorest the most. It doesn’t matter what colour, race, religion or ethnicity they are. If you add around 250,000 extra people a year through net migration they all need somewhere to live. Hence, housing crisis. Add to this laws made by the unelected EU commission having the force of an act of Parliament. EU directives had to be passed by national parliaments to form their own laws. Under UK rules these could be passed by ministers using statutory instruments, so again bypassing parliamentary oversight. Added to this was the sneering manner of the EU, the refusal to give Cameron any sort of renegotiation. Large sums of money were going to the EU to be spent elsewhere. Yes, some money came back but it was UK taxpayers’ money to start with.

I have previously written about the projects this was squandered on, particularly in Wales. You then have characters like Verhofstadt and Juncker dictating what the UK and other countries can and cannot do, despite being totally unaccountable to the British public. Then there is the drive towards ever closer union. The Euro has destroyed the Mediterranean economies, but hey let’s ignore that. And the EU army that would never exist that now exists. The way Greece was treated was also a turning point for many. How do you help a friend in need? By squeezing them until the pips squeak, enforcing austerity and crushing any dissent from their democratically elected government. EU countries had to foot the bailout bill, the UK included. Greece was then saddled with debt it can never repay. In reality Greece should have dropped out of the Euro and declared itself bankrupt and started again. But once again the globalist ideologues could not be seen to fail and lose face. And this is how they treat a member of the club?

Yet more lessons for the EU. But did they learn? No, they doubled down instead. Hence they are now taking Poland and Hungary to court for refusing migrants. Excuses are made about the court system, but Romania has decriminalised some forms of corruption and is facing no charges. Hungary dared to ban globalist-in-chief Soros and his Open Society. Needless to say it is pro-EU. Verhofstadt and others have talked tough about citizen rights during Brexit negotiations. However, they turned a blind eye when Spanish police battered Catalan pensioners for daring to vote. An independent Catalonia does not fit in with the globalist designs. Martin Schulz in Germany talks of a European super state. Centralised EU taxes are being talked about. Heseltine complains constantly about Brexit. But the EU will never reform. To do so would admit they are wrong. Their ideology and egos dictate they cannot do so. ironically this pushes more people and countries towards nationalism. The more they tighten their grip the more support for nationalism will grow.

What Can Nationalism Give Us?

There are positives to nationalism. The West is founded upon a Europe of the nations. Always has been. Europe is at its best and strongest when each individual country is allowed to flourish. Food, art, music, literature, philosophy, industry, etc is given free expression. What may work in one country may not work in another. Globalists have created swathes of economic losers in the EU and worldwide. Too much immigration too quickly destabilises a nation and causes conflict. Having strong borders helps preserve a nation’s culture and identity. It also helps stop and catch criminals and terrorists who would otherwise move freely between countries. This would seem self-evident, but our cucked political class still don’t seem to be taking any notice. Integration is the buzzword on everyone’s lips. How do you get people to integrate in to society, stop them being alienated and forming their own society within a society?

One of the answers could well be nationalism. Promote a positive overall national identity with a common set of values and ethics to draw people together. Instead of attaching an identity to a skin colour, country of origin, religion, sexuality or political creed, identity is attached to being a member of the nation. British values of hard work, strength in adversity, fair play, innovation and industry should form the bedrock of society. Instead of constantly celebrating the false idol of “diversity” it could encompass people with a shared sense of belonging. Be British first. The left has spent decades trying to undermine the nation state and then wonders why society has issues. The UK faces the twin threats of radical Islam and Socialism. Nationalism is the antidote. Nations can and did function and form good relations before the EU. Nations can trade and grow their economies without damaging each other. Just because one nation does well, it does not mean others cannot. True democracies do not war with each other. It is only when the unelected and dictators take over that conflict is seen. It is time for nationalism to reassert itself for the good of all.



© jonathon_davies 2018

