Why Nationalism Is Not the Problem Politicians Say It Is
January 11, 2026 · Frisian News
Political elites blame nationalism for social division, but ordinary people defending their own countries and communities are not the real threat. The real danger lies in unaccountable supranational bodies that override local interests.
Politicians have faced calls to resign simply for saying their town should retain its character. Brussels bureaucrats speak of this as dangerous populism. Yet such politicians simply state what most citizens believe: a place has the right to keep its character and make decisions about who lives there. This is not extremism. This is ordinary people wanting a say in their own lives, something that transcends left and right politics.
Elites frame nationalism as the root of all conflict. They claim that borders cause wars, that national pride breeds contempt for foreigners, that local control leads to tyranny. But history shows the opposite danger more often. Unaccountable international bodies, removed from ordinary voters, cause more harm than nations protecting themselves. The EU has forced member states into ruinous monetary union, flooded labor markets without consent, and overrode local courts on matters that affected real people's lives.
The word nationalism gets weaponized to mean ethnic hatred or fascism. But loving your own country, trusting your own people, and wanting to solve your own problems is not the same thing. A parent who cares most about their own children is not hateful to other families. A town that wants to stay a town, rather than become a suburb of a megacity, commits no crime against humanity. These are healthy instincts that built functioning societies for centuries.
Politicians and journalists who dismiss nationalism refuse to see what it really is: ordinary people reasserting control over their own affairs. When Brussels ignores voters, when Washington tells small countries what to do, when banks and tech companies set rules without democratic input, people turn to leaders who promise to listen. Call that populism or nationalism if you like. But pretending the problem is people wanting a voice in their own governance is dishonest.
The real divide is not nationalism versus internationalism. It is power flowing upward, away from communities, toward distant capitals and corporate headquarters. Nations and towns do not threaten peace. Bureaucracies that ignore their voters do. Until elites accept this simple fact, they will keep losing elections to people who do.
Published January 11, 2026 · Frisian News