In 2017, Donald Trump took office in the United States, President Erdogan consolidated his
power in Turkey, and 60,000 people marched in the streets of Poland calling for a ‘White
Europe.’
We wanted to explore what, if anything, these things have in common.
What we’re seeing is a wave of nationalism, what some are calling the “new nationalism,”
ripple around the world.
In some countries, it goes all the way to the highest levels of public office, while
in others, it’s manifested in certain political parties making significant progress in gaining
power.
While Turkey is seeing a special Erdogan-inspired brand of Islamic nationalism, Poland and the
U.S. are dealing with the consequences of white nationalism.
So we’ve decided to take a look back at some of the key events in a year where this
was increasingly on display.
In a year filled with breaking news about the presidency of Donald Trump, one of the
most important and impactful events was the domestic terrorism attack in Charlottesville,
Virginia.
A man drove his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer
and injuring at least 19 others.
President Trump’s response to this attack was one of the most defining parts of his
presidency thus far: he defended the white nationalists who organized the event that
caused the counter-protesters to be there in the first place, saying there were “very
fine people” on both sides.
This was a telling moment because it revealed Trump knows who a core part of his base is,
and that he’s not willing to alienate them.
Multiple studies about the 2016 election have shown that many Trump voters were in favor
of his highly divisive, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Trump campaigned on nationalism and has governed accordingly: he has combined his ‘Make America
Great Again’ slogan with policies like record-high arrests of non-criminal immigrants, a travel
ban on 7 countries, including refugees, and making the U.S. the only country to withdraw
from the Paris Climate Accords.
Those that marched in Charlottesville have something in common with tens of thousands
of people who marched in Poland: they’re calling for a white America and a white Europe.
Around Poland’s Independence Day in November 2017, about 60,000 ultra-nationalists marched
in Warsaw, participating in what experts call one of the biggest far-right demonstrations
in Europe in years.
They chanted “Pure Poland, White Poland,” and “refugees get out,” a common refrain
among nationalists in different countries.
These groups promote anti-European Union, anti-Islam policies, that are reflected in
the Polish parliament.
Back in 2015, the right-wing Law and Justice party came to power and currently holds the
most seats in that parliament.
There’s a lot of debate about whether the Law and Justice party is more right-wing populist
than nationalist; the party leaders prefer to call themselves patriotic, but they specifically
promote Polish and economic nationalism.
Party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski (Yare-oslawff Kazinski) once said Poland “can’t accept
any refugees because they could spread infectious diseases.”
What’s interesting is that other leaders in Poland have pushed back against the white
nationalism they see coming from the U.S.: when Richard Spencer, a well-known American
white nationalist, was scheduled to speak at a far-right conference in Poland, ministry
officials pushed back and said he wasn’t welcome.
The Foreign Minister said he “defames what happened during World War II, defames the
Holocaust.”
That Independence Day March, by the way, also featured chants about getting Jews out of
power.
It shows you there’s still quite a conflict in addressing nationalism within Poland.
The Polish government reportedly ended up banning Spencer from visiting any of the 26
EU Schengen countries, which include France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.
The debate over whether Turkey is part of Europe or Asia has been going on for decades.
Under President Erdogan, at least one answer is clear: his ruling Justice and Development
Party is about Turkish and at times, Islamic nationalism.
Turkey presents a very clear case of the connections between this new nationalism and authoritarianism.
Erdogan has made Turkey an incredibly dangerous place for journalists, curtailing free speech
and press freedom, especially when it comes to criticism or opposition.
Thousands of people have been arrested while certain press outlets have had their websites
blocked by the government.
According to the ruling party, it’s all in the name of making Turkey appear unified
and strong, in an increasingly destabilized area.
Those who support Erdogan said they do so because he “stands up to external aggressors,”
while others fear it’s making the country increasingly isolated.
One reason why nationalism has become more popular in all of these countries are the
effects of globalization: those who feel left out or left behind are turning to communities
that make them feel more powerful again.
Of course, this isn’t unique to just 2017.
The surprise Brexit vote in 2016 was one of the biggest indicators that a nationalist
feeling was prevalent among many voters, though some actually regretted their vote the next
day.
But the effects - of Brexit, Trump, Erdogan and more - are already in motion, not just
in these three countries but in others around the world.
The lasting effect will reshape the politics of many countries, though how the pendulum
swings remains to be seen.
It’s something we’ll continue to track into 2018.
Donald Trump espouses an ‘America First’ philosophy, but his decisions have consequences
around the world.
For a closer look at one of these decisions, his recognition of Jerusalem as the official
capital of Israel, check out this video to the right.
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