Sovereigntism

Sovereigntism, sovereignism or souverainism (from French: souverainisme, pronounced [suvʁɛnism] ) is the notion of having control over one's conditions of existence, whether at the level of the self, social group, region, nation or globe. Typically used for describing the acquiring or preserving political, economic, cultural and societal independence of a nation or a region, a sovereigntist aims to "take back control" from perceived powerful forces, either against internal subversive minority groups (ethnic, religious, sexual or gender), or from external global governance international institutions, federalism and supranational unions. It generally leans instead toward isolationism and protectionism, and can be associated with certain independence movements, but has also been used to justify violating the independence and territories of other nations.

Classification

Sovereigntism has a cultural as well as political component and can take the form of hostility towards outsiders having different values or different countries or regions of origin. Sovereigntist groups are associated with populism since they typically claim legitimacy for carrying out the sovereign will of the people. While leftist sovereigntists tend to think of their national border as a defensive line against the corrosive effects of neo-liberal, free market economics, right wing sovereigntists see it more as a filter protecting the sovereign people from interference by and inclusion of undesired new entities such as immigrants.

Though there are wide differences in ideology and historical context between sovereigntist movements, those of the twenty first century can be thought of as belonging to three separate categories: conservative sovereigntism, archeo-sovereigntism, and neo-sovereigntism. Conservative sovereignism embraces the national Westphalian model of sovereignty seeking to preserve the interstate order with norms promoting global economic order but halting further advances towards political, cultural, social and economic integration that dilute the sovereignty and identity of the nation and its people. Some vestiges of colonialism remain, with old powers retaining what they see as historical special responsibilities to intervene in former possessions, such as in the case of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Amongst rising powers, neo-sovereigntism is concerned with issues of autonomism, especially against more privileged nations with concentrated power in transnational entities such as the UN Security Council or G7.