Sovereignty, Nationalism , Populism
Sovereignty, Nationalism , Populism

Summary/Abstract: Nationalists do not identify themselves with one particular political system, but they aim to create and sustain sovereign nation states. There is no doubt that European Union poses a threat to the sovereignty in a traditional sense due to the transfer of executive authority from the national parliaments to the amorphous supranational structure. It should be noted that United States have never acceded any organization with independent legislative power. Moreover, advocating the nation states does not have to go together with nationalism, while the latter not always occurs combined with the variously defined populism. Populism can put on different forms. In Poland and Hungary populists have majorities in respective parliaments and are strongly affiliated with traditional institutions. Donald Trump gained support thanks to the creation of an image of an angry ‘ordinary fellow’, which citizens disdained by the elites could relate to. He was also attracting interest, because he ignored the rules of political correctness. But Trump’s rhetoric devaluates the most crucial institutions of the American political system. Furthermore, both Trump and his supporters gravitate towards conspiracy theories and the primacy of common-sense attitude, denying the value of expert’s opinions. Similar phenomena are taking place in Europe. Although there is no one consistent definition of ‘populism’, one could say that populism is a symptom of frustration melting into anger that is a threat to the wholesome nationalism and enduring sovereignty. It does not constitute a reform programme, and the ideological void is filled by demagogues, however posing as guardians protecting the “disinherited majority” from the amorphous “establishment”.

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