Nationalism Divides Us
For the past few weeks, the global community has sat back, watched, and analyzed the events that led up to the declaration of independence by Catalonia. The tension between the small region in the north eastern part of Spain and the government in Madrid has existed for years, but only recently has it come to a boiling point.
"The only way in which delegitimizing a declaration of independence works is if a supermajority, if not all, of the global community stands together in agreement."
Although the level of international involvement regarding the Catalonian independence movement has been limited to the overwhelming verbal support of Spanish unity by foreign leaders, many fear that we are witnessing a resurgence of European nationalism. With Brexit causing disarray in 2016, nationalist Marine Le Pen gaining the support of 33% of France, Catalonia declaring independence, and the alt-right party (AfD) in Germany making noise, there are concerns about the future of European politics. The issue has seemingly spread to the Middle East, as well, with the Kurds holding their first legitimate independence referendum since 2005.
Looking to the history regarding a rise in nationalist sentiment in a certain region as well as applying logic to the current situation is the only way guarantee the rapid decrease in these dangerous, destabilizing movements. Thus, instead of increasing the tension across the European continent, we should encourage European nations to denounce the nationalist movements in their fellow countries while doing what we can to ensure that superpowers like the US do not legitimize new regimes, which would assure that they are not globally recognized.
Though it is an old example, the dynamics that led up to World War I can still apply to today's society. In a nutshell, World War I was the result of alliances and rivalries between nationalistic European countries and empires spiraling out of control. The isolationist US laid back and watched the violence unfold (at least for a while) while Europe fought in one of the bloodiest wars the world has ever seen. While it may have helped for more international involvement at the start, the real issues were the rivalries formed in the years before war broke out.
So what can we learn from World War I? The core lesson is that at a time when there is a clear revival of nationalism concentrated in a specific part of the world, creating blocs of alliances that all turn against each other is detrimental. Whether we are discussing 1917 or 2017, the consequences of mass rivalry between nationalist countries remain the same, if not worse, in today’s age. If the leaders of these kinds of movements get powerful enough to take office and then antagonize other nations, the problem will only worsen. Thus, it is vital that the current heads of state in European countries denounce far-right nationalist parties and fight to maintain stability.
A key step in gaining independence from any country is receiving international recognition of the new nation’s legitimacy. Two prime examples of this are the Catalonian and Kurdish independence movements. In both cases, the supermajority of the world superpowers have agreed that they will not view either groups as sovereign nations if they choose to declare independence. This, among other issues, is a problem facing the Catalonian leadership as the US nor any EU country will recognize them as a legitimate country. If this lack of recognition becomes a trend for the future, it would effectively shut down any and all attempts at a nationalist succession from a European nation.
The only way in which delegitimizing a declaration of independence works is if a supermajority, if not all, of the global community stands together in agreement. For example, in 1949 the US had a foreign policy dilemma: they needed to chose whether to recognize the Republic of China or communist People’s Republic of China as the true Chinese government. For decades, the US refused to recognize Mao’s government and thus they did not change their foreign policy. This not only proved disadvantageous for the US, but their plan to ignore the communist regime failed as other foreign powers had already recognized the People’s Republic of China.
In sum, the best measures we can take to quiet down the nationalism plaguing Europe is to work with leaders already in office to make sure that there is no political encouragement of nationalist parties. If we can successfully eliminate the chance of nationalist leaders gaining power, and further the opportunity for destructive alliances and rivalries to form, room for growth in terms of support would be limited. To quell the uprisings that are active today, such as Catalonian independence, we need to continue delegitimizing any regional government that holds a referendum for secession on a global level. By taking all of these steps, the world will have a more stable, safer, and peaceful Europe.