Although it went dormant during the COVID-19 pandemic, nostalgic nationalism is still the defining political malaise of our time. The decline of American hegemony has created opportunities for post-imperial powers such as China, Russia, Turkey, and even Hungary to reassert their lost status on the world stage.
MADRID – Before the pandemic, nostalgia was a major force in global politics. Donald Trump rose to power by promising to “make America great again,” and Brexiteers won their political battle partly by idealizing Britain’s imperial past. While Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a “great rejuvenation of the Chinese people,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pursued neo-Ottoman ambitions, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lamented the Kingdom of Hungary’s territorial losses after World War I.
MADRID – Before the pandemic, nostalgia was a major force in global politics. Donald Trump rose to power by promising to “make America great again,” and Brexiteers won their political battle partly by idealizing Britain’s imperial past. While Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a “great rejuvenation of the Chinese people,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pursued neo-Ottoman ambitions, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lamented the Kingdom of Hungary’s territorial losses after World War I.