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FOR COMMENT: nationalist parties in europe: whats the worst that could happen?

Released on 2012-10-12 10:00 GMT

Email-ID 2812393
Date 2011-11-04 17:17:32
the argument here is a bit tempered, per ops, peter and Adriano, but my
understanding is that this is envisioned as a foundational thing,
basically laying the groundwork for future pieces, as we dont really have
anything on site for nationalist parties in light of the financial CF.

also im not nuts about the intro, but there is no trigger so i improvised.
adriano did a very good job on this


European Crisis Fertile Ground for Nationalist Parties


For many nationalist parties in Europe, the ongoing debt crisis seems to
be validation of their agendas.




In the minds of many nationalist parties in Europe, the ongoing financial
crisis has corroborated much of that which they advocate: that immigration
should be reformed and that their national identities should be protected.
That those beliefs are difficult to impose in an increasingly globalized
world notwithstanding, Europe has long been wary of nationalist parties,
and many countries have implemented electoral systems that deliberately
marginalize those groups. Nevertheless, such groups will be important to
watch as the European crisis plays out.


The ongoing financial crisis in Europe has brought the European financial
system under much scrutiny. By now, perceived flaws in that system have
been well documented, and much of that documentation -- understandably --
has focused on issues economic and financial alike. But economics and
finance do not exist in a vacuum; in Europe and elsewhere, one cannot
separate the economic from the political, and indeed the economic crisis
is producing notable political developments on the European continent. The
role of nationalist political parties, in which the crisis has endowed a
sense of validation, is one such development.

Episodes of economic instability tend to engender nationalist discourse.
But in an increasingly globalized world, it may be difficult for any
European government to put into legislation many of the sentiments
espoused by nationalist parties, such as immigration reform, opposition to
economic integration or the protection of what they see as their national
culture. But this will not stop them from continuing to voice their
concerns -- either through representation in a country's parliament or
through street-level demonstrations -- even though mechanisms are in place
to marginalize these groups. Accordingly, as the European economic crisis
continues to fuel nationalist ideology, STRATFOR expects the tension
created by globalization and its social and cultural effects to be an
important element in the European political scene in the coming years.

SH1: Nationalism: A European Tradition

byproduct of the continent's geography, which produced pockets of
communities that for centuries were isolated from one another. In these
disparate communities a deep sense of belonging to their native land was
instilled, as was an equally deep distrust of outsiders.

Distrust of nationalist political parties has been a constant factor in
the last two hundred years, but after WWII, which showed the continent how
corrosive such parties could be, Europe began to institutionalize a more
continental sense of belonging, culminating in the creation of the
European Union. In return for a collective continental identity, the
European Union offered prosperity and the promise of peace. When Europe
was rich and safe, this bargain resonated among Europeans. But the
worsening economic crisis has weakened the foundation upon which this
agreement rests.

set of ideas that seek to defend a country's "national identity" against
the threats of encroaching forces brought on by globalization. For many
Europeans, this manifests itself in two forms: immigration and the loss of
national sovereignty to the institutions of the European Union.

SH2: Protecting "National Identity"

As a countermeasure to these perceived threats, several political parties
across Europe have taken steps to protect their national identities. In
Western Europe, the main concern regarding immigration is Islam. Most
nationalist parties highlight the continent's origins in Christianity and
its supposed incompatibility with Muslim customs and beliefs. A number of
events showcase this resilience to fully embrace Islam, including the
rejection of the construction of minarets in Switzerland and the rise of
nationalist politics under the late Pim Fortyun and Geert Wilders lets
give the names of these guys' parties in the Netherlands lets get
particulars. Dates, and examples of those "nationalist politics".

In Eastern Europe, the main concern is the presence of minority
populations, the Roma, or gypsies, in particular. Hungary's Jobbik party
has warned against the growth of "gypsy crime" in the country, and the
Magyar Garda, Jobbik's paramilitary wing, has conducted violent
demonstrations against Roma? while wearing military-style uniforms and
WWII fascist regalia.

claimed that the welfare state is at risk of disappearing due to an influx
of immigrants, while the National Union Attack of Bulgaria criticizes the
country's ethnic and religious minorities, such as the Turks and the
Pomaks, or Bulgarian Muslims, for allegedly being too privileged.

The rejection of the European Union, on the other hand, is nuanced can you
explain what you mean by this?. As a general rule, all the parties believe
their countries surrender too much sovereignty to the bloc. Organizations
such as the Freedom Party of Austria and the Danish People's Party have
demonstrated a long history of EU opposition does this mean EU policies?
Accession?, while the Swiss People's Party wants to keep Switzerland out
of the bloc altogether. Other parties accept membership in the European
Union but refuse to expand it. For these parties, the incorporation of
Turkey is a major point of contention.

Virtually every European country allows nationalist parties to participate
in their domestic politics (though many take steps to exclude them from
the political process, a point to which we will return), but some
countries have longer traditions of supporting nationalist groups than
others. Switzerland is one such country; in the past three federal
elections, nationalist parties have averaged 28 percent of the popular
vote?, with the Swiss People's Party as the prime example leading party?

Following Switzerland is France, where the National Front has around 14
percent of country popular support. The Netherlands, Austria and Denmark
show similar figures at around 12 percent and 13 percent respectively,
while Finland has experienced growth in the support of nationalist parties
in the past two elections. Elsewhere in Europe, countries such as Italy,
Hungary and Bulgaria have strong enough support for these parties to
achieve a modest presence in the legislative branch.

[Elsewhere in Europe, such as Portugal, Norway and Estonia, show low
numbers of support to nationalist groups. Adriano, I think we can cut this
as it does not further the argument.]

SH3: Impediments to Representation

However, popular support does not always equate to access to the
parliament. If the European Union has sought to temper nationalism among
its member states by creating a sense of collective identity, individual
countries, likewise suspicious of nationalist parties, also have sought to
exclude such parties at an institutional level.

The end of WWII -- and later, the collapse of the Soviet Union -- provided
European countries with the opportunity to redesign some aspects of their
political systems. This yielded electoral systems that seek to prevent
extremist parties from coming to power, including mechanisms to raise
electoral thresholds for parliamentary accession and multiple rounds of

[In the following grafs, we shift from talking exclusively about
nationalist parties to "small" parties. We might want to consider noting
that most nationalist parties are small; seems pretty obvious but absent
that, the shift in language seems jarring to me.]

Most European countries have emplaced a system of proportional
representation in parliament; the percentage of the popular vote a party
receives determines the percentage of seats it will have in parliament,
provided it wins more than a set minimum threshold. Countries such as
Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain have low electoral thresholds -- under
3 percent -- meaning it is relatively easy to gain seats in those
parliaments. Some Eastern European countries, such as Czech Republic,
Slovakia and Poland, have higher thresholds of over 5 percent.

Low thresholds could be seen as risky because they allow fringe parties to
access power. At the same time they force the mainstream parties to adjust
their policies to attract votes away from the smaller groups, so the very
issues that make nationalist groups popular tend to be absorbed into the

The parliaments of England and France are particularly difficult for small
proportional basis; rather, they are given to candidates who win a
majority in single-member districts. In addition, France has a two-round
system, which filters out smaller parties

These systems bear notable consequences. The French National Front has
garnered as much as 15 percent of the popular vote. This would ensure a
sizeable presence in the parliament of almost any other European country;
in France, the party has no representation in parliament. Likewise in
England, the U.K. Independence Party is a relatively small entity, and the
3.1 percent of votes that it received in the last elections when was this?
would have given it some seats in Finland or Portugal. UKIP has no
representation in the British parliament.

The consequences of these systems could transcend the borders of a country
and generate friction both with neighbors and with the EU bureaucracy. In
July, Denmark threatened to close its borders. Lets explain explicitly why
Denmark closed it borders.

Electoral structures designed specifically to exclude nationalist parties
make it difficult to predict whether such parties will become more
prominent fixtures in European politics as the debt crisis plays out.
Nevertheless, the fact remains: Nationalist parties, emboldened by the
crisis despite having an untenable position in a globalized world, will be
important to monitor if and when Europe recovers.

Cole Altom
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