YEAR IN REVIEW: NATIONALISM CONTINUES TO RISE
Opinion; by Prakash Patel in Pataliputra
December 29, 1999
Raphael Aubert, leader of Callise's National Sovereigntist Party.
With the Empire's bimillennium just under half a year away, this year, just like last year, has been one of major political shifting, and if those shifts have shown us anything, it's that nationalism, whether it be left-wing, right-wing, sovereigntist or regionalist, continues to be on the rise when it comes to the global political sphere. From Gothis to Craviter and more, nationalism in many forms continues to sweep the globe.
In Callise, strongman Raphael Aubert, perhaps this year's nationalist poster-child, has led his country's National Sovereigntist Party to numerous political victories. Perhaps the most potent nationalist ideology that wound up on the rise this year, National Sovereigntism defined Aubert's #IWouldPreferNotTo campaign, which has whipped up much of the Callisean public. As a result, Callise's legislature passed both the Cimmerian Trade and Travel Act and the Comprehensive Fair Trade Act, imposing tariffs on Cimmeria, Malor-Kanada, and Prydania, in what Aubert calls a victory against "internationalist stooges".
National Sovereigntism was also, according to numerous political pundits, responsible for the dissolution of the Phoenix Union. A brainchild of the State Curator, the Union was an experiment, meant to bring the nations of Craviter closer together in the face of multiple crises. However, conflicts, red tape, and gridlock within the Phoenix Parliament led to popular discontent within numerous member states, culminating in the mass departure of every single member.
One such place where discontent and national sovereigntism rose meteorically was the small but influential Principality of Sil Dorsett. Amidst political turmoil regarding differing opinions on the role of the monarchy in the country's government, the Phoenix Union's political standoff with Cogoria after the Crown Conflict caused rampant fears of a conflict. This spawned a meteoric rise in national sovereigntism and cynicism towards the Union that continued after the crisis had abated, leading to the Principality's Chamber of Law voting overwhelmingly to leave the Union. This would be the impetus for the final chain reaction that led to the Union's demise.
In Valland and Andrenne, discontent with ruling parties has led to increased political polarization that has allowed nationalism to rise. Valland's Centrist Union Party, elected nearly two decades ago during a time of fierce partisanship on an effective compromise platform espousing noninterventionism and domestic change, has, in recent years, faced growing criticism for failing to deliver the change promised. Criticism has also been lodged at the party for enacting measures often either partly or wholly contrary to the official party platform as well as the sentiments of its base; with the most recent examples include Valland's admission to the Pan-Gotic Union and the recognition of Sutherland.
Many members of the Vallish public are angry that Valland's big banks- which not only have reach across much of Gothis but also various other parts of the globe- have not been contained as promised, instead being allowed to grow unfettered. This has, over the course of recent years, led to the diminishing of the Centrist Union's base, and the growth of Valland's two other major parties- the Confederation Development Party, or CDP- a broadly left-wing party- and the Messianist Democrats- a center-right party. This year in particular, however, has seen the rise of a more broad form of discontent in the form of Valland's Federalist Party.
Formerly a fringe party advocating for the abolition of Valland's trademark administrative system of cantons in favor of a federal republic, its controversial leader, Mark Hellstrand, has reshaped the party, forcing the old federalist elements into the periphery and replacing them with right-wing populism, nationalism, and national sovereigntism, and speaking to the Vallish electorate with a bombastic charm that only Lotte Jensen, the party boss of the Messianist Democrats, seems to really be able to match.
Despite its governing party nominally adhering to syndicalism, both national sovereigntism and nationalism at large have also found its way into Norsia. In the same manner that Raphael Aubert has whipped up a sizable portion of the Callisean public, Norsian Queen Alycia has appealed to Norsian nationalism, whipping up most of the Norsian public, rallying them to work and restore the wartorn nation.
Alycia's nationalistic programs also extend to foreign policy, as immediately following the muddy transition in Berkowitzia to its current status as a failed state, Norsia began gunning to expand into New Norsia, an ethnically Norsian portion of Berkowitzia, with many political pundits predicting that very soon, Norsia will move to annex the territory completely. Norsia as of late is also wary about foreign aid shipments entering the country, watching all foreign aid workers, all shipments, and more closely in an effort- spurred by concerns galvanized by national sovereigntist sentiment- to ensure that nations sending aid do not utilize it to influence them.
In Andrenne, in March 2017, when Andrennian Prime Minister Olivia Vehrn introduced the controversial Vehrn Border Control Act- starting what many Andrennians considered a witch hunt for the Ninhundish living in Andrenne- it caused much controversy in the Andrennian left. Many likened this to Vilkas Nyström using his secret police to hunt down anyone he disliked. Andrenne's Social Democrats began protests, calling Vehrn a heartless tyrant and asking her to lighten restructions. However, things started getting violent.
Riots began in most major cities, and in response, Andrennian nationalists began their own counter-protests. This led to them clashing with radical elements of the Andrennian left. Violent riots and fighting between the two groups ensued and continues to occur, reminding many both inside and outside Andrenne of the communists and fascists fighting during the era of the rise of Nyström. Many are now calling for an investigation into Vehrn, accusing her of overstepping constitutional boundaries. Many have gone so far as to demand she be impeached, due to her inaction during the riots.
In Goyanes, nationalism rose this year through scandal. Though already a very conservative country, in June, the then-main opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party, fractured after a bombshell report arose, alleging that party leader Alexander Bijner used funds from the party's official bank account to purchase several new sports cars and a luxury apartment in a beach community in southern Valland. Following a snap election, the LDP lost most of its seats to the centrist Sentrum Party, only further decreasing the strength and base of the Goyanean left, and the credibility of its politicians.
In the Vestrugat, meanwhile, nationalism took on a different form- pan-Vestrugatism. With the independence of Aerndreffed, the Hastfradic League became the Federation of the Vestrugat, which then sought to further integrate itself in a further move towards pan-Vestrugatic ideology. This can be exemplified by looking at the recent changing of the flags of many Federation members to include pan-Vestrugatic symbolism, and by the Federation's legislature- the Landesgrad- voted to mandate that all members increase the size and budget of their militaries, with hopes to double the size of the aggregate Vestrugatic military by 2025. This is a stark departure from Vestrugatic nations' previously longstanding noninterventionist policies, and combined with the further political integration of the Federation as a whole as well as the Federation's participation as a singular unit within the Pan-Gotic Union, it is clear that change is coming to the Vestrugat.
Finally, the Empire itself must be mentioned. Though traditional nationalist ideology is and has always been foreign to the Empire, a distinctly Imperial flavor of nationalism has, this year, skyrocketed in popularity and breadth. The RSP, riding on a wave of public backlash towards the Phoenix Union- an organization that initially enjoyed much popularity with the public- saw a spike in its approval ratings; as did the Crown, as HM the Emperor, likely seeing the writing on the wall following the departure of Maloria, spearheaded an effort within HM Government to get the Empire out of the quickly-crumbling Union. Despite the backlash, the SJP handled events well, quickly seizing the moment before things could get out of hand, however the affair was a clear indicator of a declining public trust in the SJP and in Congress- and the placing of that trust by many members of the public in the hands of His Majesty.
These examples are not the only ones. From the efforts of nationalists in the north of McMasterdonia to craft a Sutherlander nation- one that the Empire has not recognized- to the uniquely Skandan
left-wing nationalism behind last year's August Coup and more, it's become apparently clear that internationalism is on its way down in this day and age- and nationalism is on its way up; and that this year made that clearer than ever. If one thing besides that is certain when it comes to global politics, it's that the political future of the world is
uncertain. We'll have to see what awaits us as we enter the second millennium, with only months away until the Empire turns two thousand years old.
Translation by Vijay Dongre
December 29, 1999
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