Wêrom nasjonalisme net it probleem is dat politisy sizze
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.
FryskFoarige wike krige in Sweedske boargemaster opropings om ôf te treden omdat er sei dat syn stêd Sweedsk bliuwe moast. Brusselske byrokraten neame dit gefaarlik populisme. Mar de boargemaster stelde ienfâldichwei wat de measte boargers leauwe: in plak hat it rjocht syn karakter te hâlden en beslissings te nimmen oer wa't dêr wennet. Dit is net ekstremisme. Dit binne normale minsken dy't sizze yn har eigen libben.
Elites stelle nasjonalisme foar as de woartel fan alle konflikt. Hja beweare dat grinzen oarloggen feroarsaakje, dat nasjonale grutskens ferachting foar bûtenlanners fiedt, dat lokale kontrôle ta tirannje liedt. Mar de skiednis toant it tsjinoerstelde gefaar faker. Net-ferantwurdlike ynternasjonale organen, fier fan gewoane kiezers, feroarsaakje mear skea as naasjes dy't harsels beskermje. De EU hat lidsteaten yn in rampsoalige muntunie twongen, arbeidsmerkten sûnder tastimming oerstreamd en lokale rjochtbanken oan harren lot oerlitten yn saken dy't echte minsken rekken.
It wurd nasjonalisme wurdt brûkt om etnyske hate of fascisme te betsjutten. Mar dyn eigen lân leaf hawwen, op dyn eigen folk fertrouwe en dyn eigen problemen oplosse wolle is net itselde. In âlder dy't benammen foar syn eigen bern soarget is net haatlik tsjin oare gesinnen. In stêd dy't in stêd bliuwe wol, ynstee fan in bûtenwyk fan in megastêd te wurden, begiet gjin misdied tsjin de minskheid. Dit binne sûne ynstinkten dy't ieuwen lang funksjonearjende mienskippen opboud hawwe.
Politisy en sjoernalisten dy't nasjonalisme ôfwize wolle net sjen wat it werklik is: normale minsken dy't wer kontrôle oer harren eigen saken nimme. As Brussel kiezers negearret, as Washington lytse lannen fertelt wat te dwaan, as banken en techbedriuwen regels stelle sûnder demokratyske ynbring, wende minsken harsels ta lieders dy't belove te harkjen. Neam dat populisme of nasjonalisme as jo wolle. Mar dwaan as it probleem minsken binne dy't sizze wolle yn harren eigen bestjoer is ûnearlik.
De echte skieding is net nasjonalisme tsjin ynternasjonalisme. It is macht dy't omheech streamet, fuort fan mienskippen, nei fiere haadsteden en haadkantoren fan bedriuwen. Naasjes en steden bedrigje frede net. Byrokrasyen dy't harren kiezers negearje dogge dat wol. Oant elites dit ienfâldige feit akseptearje, sille hja ferkiezings bliuwe ferlizen oan minsken dy't harkje.
Last week a Swedish mayor faced calls to resign for saying his town should remain Swedish. Brussels bureaucrats speak of this as dangerous populism. Yet the mayor simply stated 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 · Ljouwert, Fryslân