European nationalism (sometimes called pan-European nationalism) is a form of
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
based on a
pan-European identity
Pan-European identity is the sense of personal identification with Europe, in a cultural or political sense. The concept is discussed in the context of European integration, historically in connection with hypothetical proposals, but since th ...
. It is considered minor since the
National Party of Europe
The National Party of Europe (NPE) was an initiative undertaken by a number of political parties in Europe during the 1960s to help increase cross-border co-operation and work towards European unity. Under the direction of Oswald Mosley, a pre-wa ...
disintegrated in the 1970s.
History
The former
British Union of Fascists leader,
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
, led the
Union Movement
The Union Movement (UM) was a far-right political party founded in the United Kingdom by Oswald Mosley. Before the Second World War, Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) had wanted to concentrate trade within the British Empire, but the Uni ...
and advocated its "
Europe a Nation
Europe a Nation was a policy developed by the British fascist politician Oswald Mosley as the cornerstone of his Union Movement. It called for the integration of Europe into a single political entity. Although the idea failed to gain widespread ...
" policy from 1948 to 1973. In 1950, Mosley co-founded the
European Social Movement
The European Social Movement (German: ''Europäische soziale Bewegung'', ESB) was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote pan-European nationalism.
History
The ESB had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Move ...
and collaborated with comparable groups on the Continent. The organisation was mostly defunct by 1957 and was succeeded by the
National Party of Europe
The National Party of Europe (NPE) was an initiative undertaken by a number of political parties in Europe during the 1960s to help increase cross-border co-operation and work towards European unity. Under the direction of Oswald Mosley, a pre-wa ...
, which was formed in 1962 by Mosley and the leaders of the German nationalist
Deutsche Reichspartei
The Deutsche Reichspartei (DRP, ''German Reich Party'', ''German Imperial Party'' or ''German Empire Party'') was a nationalist, far-right and later Neo-Nazi political party in West Germany. It was founded in 1950 from the German Right Party (ger ...
, the
Italian Social Movement,
Jeune Europe
Jeune (29 March 1989 – 4 January 2006) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in England and Australia and is best known for winning the prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1994. He was a muscular chestnut stallion who sometimes raced in pac ...
and the
Mouvement d'Action Civique Mouvement d'Action Civique was a minor far-right political movement in Belgium during the 1960s.
The origins of the MAC lay in the 1960 independence of the Belgian Congo and the resulting Congo Crisis which saw the vast majority of white colonials, ...
. The movement remained active during the 1960s but was mostly disbanded in the 1970s.
1962 ''European Declaration''
In their "European Declaration" of 1 March 1962, the National Party of Europe called for the creation of a European nation-state through a common European government, an elected European parliament, the withdrawal of
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
forces from Europe and the dissolution of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, which would be replaced by an international body led by the United States, the Soviet Union and Europe as three equals. The territory of the European state was to be that of all European nations outside the Soviet Union, including the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, and their overseas possessions.
Current situation
In 2014, Raphael Schlembach describes the existence of "a form of pan-European nationalism — a 'Europe for the Europeans' — that is based upon anti-Americanism and ethno-pluralism" within "some sections" of European
neo-fascism
Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration s ...
. Indeed, European nationalist organisations continued to exist on a minor scale after the disintegration of the National Party of Europe in the 1970s, but no group advocates a "European nation state".
According to scholars, former European nationalist groups now propose a European
ethnic federalism
Ethnic federalism, multi-ethnic or multi-national federalism,Liam D. Anderson (2016),"Ethnofederalism: The Worst form of institutional arrangement...?" Academia is a form of federal system in which the federated regional or state units are define ...
based on an ideology of "European culturalism" or, according to Dimitri Almeida, underwent a "
Eurosceptic turn", the ideology of European nationalism being largely replaced by
hard Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...
by the 2010s.
European Parliament
Identity and Democracy
Identity and Democracy (french: link=no, Identité et démocratie, ID) is a right-wing to far-right political group of the European Parliament, launched on 13 June 2019 for the Ninth European Parliament term. It is composed of nationalist, ri ...
grouping is a
far-right political group of the European Parliament
The political groups of the European Parliament are the officially recognised political groups consisting of legislators of aligned ideologies in the European Parliament.
The European Parliament is unique among supranational assemblies in tha ...
launched on 13 June 2019 for the
Ninth European Parliament. It is composed of
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
,
right-wing populist
Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...
and
eurosceptic national parties from ten European nations. It is the successor to the
Europe of Nations and Freedom
Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF; french: link=no, Europe des nations et des libertés, ENL) was a political group in the European Parliament launched on 15 June 2015. The group was the smallest within the European Parliament during the eighth ...
group, which was formed during the
Eighth European Parliament
The eighth European Parliament was elected in the 2014 elections and lasted until the 2019 elections.
Major events
* 22–25 May 2014
** Elections to the Eighth Parliament.
* 1 July 2014
** First meeting (constitutive session) of the Eighth Pa ...
. Its members are the
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aus ...
,
Flemish Interest
, ideology =
, predecessor = Vlaams Blok
, position =
, europarl = Identity and Democracy
, european = Identity and Democracy Party
, youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren
, colours =
, ...
(Belgium),
Freedom and Direct Democracy
Freedom and Direct Democracy ( cs, Svoboda a přímá demokracie, SPD) is a right-wing populist political party in the Czech Republic. It is led by Tomio Okamura and it holds 20 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
It has been described as right-wi ...
(Czechia), the
Danish People's Party
The Danish People's Party ( da, Dansk Folkeparti, DPP/DF) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Denmark. It was formed in 1995 by former members of the Progress Party (FrP).
The DPP lent its support to the Venstre– C ...
, the
Conservative People's Party of Estonia
The Conservative People's Party of Estonia ( et, Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond, EKRE) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Estonia. It is currently led by Martin Helme. It was founded in March 2012, with the ...
, the
Finns Party
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
The ...
,
National Rally (France)
The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right:
Academic:
...
,
Alternative for Germany,
Lega Nord (Italy) and the
Party for Freedom (Netherlands). Other nationalist parties include the
European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which also included nationalist, right-wing populist and euroscepticism, eurosceptic national parties from 12 countries.
List of European nationalist organisations
Identitarian Movement
The Identitarian movement or Identitarianism is a pan-European nationalist, far-right political ideology asserting the right of European ethnic groups and white peoples to Western culture and territories claimed to belong exclusively to them. ...
·
Jeune Europe
Jeune (29 March 1989 – 4 January 2006) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in England and Australia and is best known for winning the prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1994. He was a muscular chestnut stallion who sometimes raced in pac ...
(Belgium) · Comité de liaison des européens révolutionnaires (France) ·
Parti Communautaire National-Européen (Belgium) ·
Nouvelle Droite
The Nouvelle Droite (; en, "New Right"), sometimes shortened to the initialism ND, is a far-right political movement which emerged in France during the late 1960s. The Nouvelle Droite is at the origin of the wider European New Right (ENR). Vario ...
(France) ·
Réseau Radical ·
Bloc Identitaire
Les Identitaires (English: The Identitarians), formerly the Bloc identitaire (English: ''Identitarian Bloc''), is an Identitarian movement, Identitarian Nationalism, nationalist movement in France. Like the Nouvelle Droite, French New Right, ...
·
Parti Nationaliste Français et Européen
The French and European Nationalist Party (french: Parti nationaliste français et européen or PNFE) was a French nationalist militant organization active between 1987 and 1999. Led by Claude Cornilleau until 1996, its slogan was "France first, ...
(France) ·
Imperium Europa (Malta) ·
le parti des européens (France) ·
Reconquista Europa (Ukraine)
Arendt's warning
Hannah Arendt warned in 1954 that a "pan-European nationalism" might arise from the cultivation of
anti-American
Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general.
Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...
sentiment in Europe. Her warning has been deemed obsolete by the 1990s:
*
Gerard Delanty
Gerard Delanty (born 1960) is a British sociologist and Professor of Sociology and Social & Political Thought at the University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = ...
argued, "Europe could never constitute a coherent identity because there is 'no external opposition' to it" (a role foreseen by Arendt as to be taken by America).
*In the opinion of the scholar Anton Speekenbrink in 2014, nationalism was replaced by a "postmodern world order" in the postwar period ("Nationalism was dead, but it was not replaced by pan-European nationalism or by a pan-European identity"). It instead invoked a "European idea", which was said to be transformed into an "idea of diversity of identity" combined with a "commonality of values".
[Anton Speekenbrink, "Trans-Atlantic Relations in a Postmodern World" (2014)]
p. 258
See also
*
Eurocentrism
Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism)
is a worldview that is centered on Western civilization or a biased view that favors it over non-Western civilizations. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western worl ...
*
European integration
*
Eurosphere
The Eurosphere or the European Empire is a concept associated with the public intellectual Mark Leonard, Oxford University academic Jan Zielonka,Zielonka, J. (2006), ''Europe as Empire'', Oxford University Press: Oxford. the European Union Dir ...
*
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
*
Fourth Reich
The Fourth Reich (german: Viertes Reich) is a hypothetical Nazi Reich that is the successor to Adolf Hitler's Third Reich (1933–1945). The term has also been used to refer to the possible resurgence of Nazi ideas, as well as pejoratively of pol ...
*
Identitarianism
The Identitarian movement or Identitarianism is a pan-European nationalist, far-right political ideology asserting the right of European ethnic groups and white peoples to Western culture and territories claimed to belong exclusively to them ...
*
Nativism
*
Pan-nationalism
*
Paneuropean Union
The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is the oldest European unification movement.
It began with the publishing of Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi's manifesto ''P ...
*
Politics of Europe
*
Pro-Europeanism
Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Polit ...
*
United States of Europe
The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Federation and Federal Europe, is the hypothetical scenario of the European integration leading to formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of Ameri ...
*
White nationalism
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwo ...
*
List of active nationalist parties in Europe
Nationalist parties in Europe have been on the rise since the early 2010s due to, according to some, austerity measures and immigration.
Linguist Ruth Wodak has stated that the populist parties rising across Europe do so for different reasons in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pan-European Nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
Nationalist movements in Europe
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...