With rise of Nationalism, the demise of Internationalism

Yves Daccord, the director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, cautiously agrees that a [number of industrialized countries] are responding to a rise of nationalism, and a withdrawal from internationalism, manifesting in Brexit, in America’s Trump, in France’s Front Nationale and Greece’s Syriza, among many others.

In part he puts it down to the global economy. “Despite what the market is telling us, the reality for most of the people around the world is the situation has not improved since [the] 2008 [crisis],” Daccord says.

“If you are middle income, lower income, the reality is your life has become more difficult, from Europe to Africa, Asia, whatever. And this why people are coming back somewhat to what they know: ‘my community, my own interests, my border’.

He complains that, worldwide, “the big discussions have been about the financial crisis and about the security crisis. And that’s not enough”.

“What we are really lacking right now is political will at the international level.”

[The Age]

This entry was posted in Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation by Grant Montgomery.