If you’re
a typical ethnocentric-American, you probably didn’t know that Italy just had
their federal election last Sunday. If you are an educated elitist who has been
keeping up with European politics, then you would know that the results of the
election demonstrate the nationalistic wave that has been passing through the
European democracies. Unfortunately this election demonstrates how this trend
is here to stay and will continue to march on throughout the continent. Which
means that the European Union is still at significant risk of dissolving and
causing major disruption in political stability in the region.
In case you’ve been living
underneath a rock the last few years, there has been a significant rise in popularity
of nationalistic right-leaning parties and political leaders. These political
entities thrive off the discontent that many Europeans feel about the pitfalls of
the European Union, such as how it was more trouble than it was actually worth.
Any Europeans advocate for their countries to leave the international
organization for the best interest of their economy. Especially when certain
countries in the Union are “piggy-backing” off of others, such as Greece. The
situation in Greece being that their economy has been significantly weak and stagnant
since the global economic recession in 2007-2008. The Grecian economy hasn’t
recovered from the financial crisis and the citizens of the other European
countries feel burdened to bear their failing economy. This unhappiness with
the European Union has led many individuals to support center-right and
far-right political parties who advocate for their country to back out of the
E.U.
Another key issue that these nationalistic-based
parties capitalize on is immigration, specifically the Syrian refugees
desperately trying to seek asylum in European countries. Many Europeans feel
felt fear of the unknown with these people coming into their country, they were
afraid that the “integrity” of their cultural identity was threatened with the
influx of these immigrants who came from a distinctively different cultural
background. The nationalistic parties fed off of this “fear of the other” and
racism that was percolating within European countries. These political leaders campaigned
on being openly racist by rebranding it as “saying it like it is.” Which was
obviously positively received by a public that felt like their political
leaders were disconnected from the average working person. Many Europeans
believe that the ones who benefit the most from the European Union are the
educated and wealthy elites, and that the nationalistic parties were the ones
who were “looking out for” the average Joe.
Experts of international politics
had reason to believe that the nationalistic trend was beginning to wane off.
With the election of Emmanuel Macron as President of France, along with the
reelection of Angela Merkle as Chancellor of Germany, academics thought that
these were signs that European politics was returning to “business as usual,” by
electing pro-European Union leaders. They hoped that the rise in popularity of far
right politicians with platforms emphasizing nation-first and isolationist
policies would simmer away. Unfortunately this was not the case. In the case of
the Italian election, the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement and the
center-right party Forza
Italia demonstrate the discontent that Italian citizens feel
towards the liberal
elite that had dominated Italian and overall European politics in the previous
decades. Although an immediate separation from the European Union seems
unlikely, due to how the Five-Star Movement refuses to form coalitions with the
other parties, thus causing a “hung” parliament that will be incredibly
ineffectual at getting any political agenda done.
In response to this continuing nationalistic,
isolationist trend, what is a supporter of international institutions and interconnectedness
to do? For starters, they can flock to social media outlets and openly advocate
and encourage maintaining the European Union. If Putin can manipulate democratic
elections with social media, then supporters of globalization the can use social
media can save the European Union. Since the European Union has been around for
about sixty years, it is easy to take it for granted. That it is easy to overlook
the benefits the European Union has brought on to not only its members, but to
the international community as a whole. During this time of intense political polarization
and discord, global institutions are needed more than ever to try to keep the
world together.
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