Nationalism was a powerful ideology in the 19th and 20th centuries, ultimately leading to two bloody world wars. At its origin, the idea of nationalism was in itself well-intentioned: it was believed that every people should have the autonomy to decide their own affairs. At that time, there were several oppressive empires led by despots. For example, Russia oppressed Finland and the Baltic countries in the 19th and early 20th centuries, attempting to Russify them under imperial rule, and Britain similarly oppressed Ireland. The national idea led peoples to create their own cultures; in Finland, the Kalevala is a good example of this, although it was partly compiled and appropriated from Karelian culture.
However, nationalism eventually led to hostile competition between nations, belief in the superiority of one’s own people over others, colonialism, racial theories, and genocides such as the Holocaust and Nazi atrocities, in which millions were killed. The atrocities committed by Serbs in the 1990s are another example from recent history. Among the most recent large-scale atrocities are the violence in Gaza and the genocide and persecution in Sudan, such as in Darfur.
Nationalism and hatred have risen strongly worldwide since around 2010. The far right began to gain strength after the 2009 financial crisis. It often draws from the prejudices, fears, and feelings of powerlessness among marginalized people, as described by the German-American philosopher Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism. Such people—like workers pushed into hardship by economic crises—are easy targets for demagogues like Trump. Already in ancient Greece, a political pattern was described that recurs throughout history: monarchy becomes aristocracy, aristocracy becomes democracy, and democracy becomes tyranny when a demagogue exploiting people’s fears takes power. The Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti also spoke about how ideologies can blind people.
Violent nationalism is often also driven by a search for identity and belonging. Neo-Nazi groups frequently attract socially marginalized youth seeking a community. The same phenomenon appears in criminal gangs, such as street gangs. Notably, however, there is also a phenomenon where well-off individuals become so-called “white-collar Nazis.” Perhaps this is driven by a desire for power and control.
In the Star Wars films, the great Jedi Master Yoda warns how fear blinds and ultimately leads to violence: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
The world wars, however, led to a wave of humanism and the creation of the United Nations in 1945. The UN has brought peace and stability, improved human rights and environmental protection, and reduced poverty. For example, extreme poverty (people living on less than $2.15 per day) has fallen in developing countries from over 50% in the 1980s to around 10%. Major milestones of the UN include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1947), the Paris Climate Agreement (2015), and the Montreal biodiversity agreement (2022). In Europe, the EU ended wars and has brought unprecedented prosperity. It has also been a highly significant protector of nature.
Globalization and its importance have long been discussed. The Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant published Perpetual Peace (Frieden. Ein philosophischer Entwurf) in 1795, outlining how lasting global peace could be achieved through international agreements and institutions—a united world. Kant envisioned an institution similar to today’s UN to govern global affairs. Logically, the only way to end wars and eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons is through cooperation and the unification of the world into a democratic federation. A single world government may raise fears of dystopia, which is why it is crucial that such a system be multilayered, democratic, with strong local governance, robust oversight, and an independent judiciary.
Globalization has both good and bad aspects. The positive includes international cooperation, shared rules, promotion of democracy and human rights, environmental protection, and peacebuilding. The negative includes the dominance of multinational corporations and the imposition of neoliberal, capitalist thinking. What is needed is social and ecological globalization, not the pursuit of corporate profit interests.
Although the far right has risen—often with support from Russia in Europe and America—and with figures like Trump and Putin we have entered a more reactionary era aiming to restore “might makes right,” there are also signs of change. Events like the fall of authoritarian regimes or shifting public opinion—such as growing support in the UK for rejoining the EU—suggest that barriers can collapse surprisingly quickly. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the rapid liberation of Eastern Europe are reminders of this. I believe we are gradually returning to a world of cooperation and a new global order that promotes democracy, human rights, and environmental protection. However, this requires the end of Trump’s political era and a return of the United States to a democratic path. Another major challenge is the war in Ukraine and Russia’s threat to Europe.
After World War II, we largely lived in an era of cooperation and postnationalism, where barriers were lowered. However, global power was long divided between the USA and the Soviet Union and their competing ideologies. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Francis Fukuyama famously spoke of “the end of history.” That end never came. Today we are living in a new era of nationalism, and we must actively defend human rights and democracy. Democracy is not self-evident, as recent developments have shown.
A new rise of postnationalism is needed. In a future postnational society, mobility would ideally be free, human rights respected everywhere, and there would be consensus on helping the disadvantaged. A global basic income could be established, and nature and ecosystems would be recognized as the foundation of all human activity, in line with the principles of doughnut economics. Human activity must not exceed planetary boundaries.
It is time to see the world as one global village instead of competing nations. In Africa, the concept of “ubuntu” is widely known: “I am because you are.” We are part of a global community that must be based on solidarity and cooperation. Evolutionarily, humanity has survived for millions of years through cooperation and learning from others. Cooperation has been a key force in survival. Early human societies would not have survived without it.
I find it beautiful that in my hometown library, “welcome” is written in Estonian, Russian, Arabic, and Somali. We do not own the land we live on—it is shared. Humans have always moved and migrated, bringing innovations and ideas with them. Immigrants are a richness to us. From a biological perspective, genetic mixing is also essential for the survival of our species; isolated populations tend to suffer more illnesses. No one is a “stranger”—all are equal inhabitants of the land they live in, and equal citizens of the world.
The direction of history is forward, not backward. And without cooperation, we will not survive.
With the recent Artemis II lunar mission, we once again saw from space how beautiful, fragile, and small our world truly is. Let us take good care of it—because we have no other planet.
—Daniel Elkama, from planet Earth