When Donald Trump won the presidency on Nov. 8, not only did it become apparent that Americans were in shock, but the world as well. Trump ran on an anti-establishment platform advocating for the implementation of nationalistic policies such as building a wall along the American-Mexican border, stopping mass immigration from predominantly Muslim countries and promoting the importance of keeping jobs in America. The nationalistic policies proposed were seen as desirable to many Americans. A large part of Trump’s victory stemmed for his promotion of nationalism and rejection of globalism.

Nationalism has been on the rise in the international world as of late. This ideology advocates for the promotion of one’s country above all else. The phrase “America first” comes up often in political rhetoric. However the question remains, why is it on the rise? The answer is countries are beginning to reject globalization.

Globalism is essentially the opposite of nationalism, it promotes international collectivism. Globalism advocates for “the world together first.” Globalization began to significantly increase under the Obama Administration. Trump’s victory was a rejection of these policies. Not only did globalization began to rapidly flourish in America, but across the international stage. The European Union is an example of globalization or international collectivism. Then another question arises, why do countries and individuals reject the idea of international collectivism? It does not sound too bad on the surface. However, globalism often leads to significant problems in countries, therefore the rejection of it becomes more clear.

Not only has America turned to nationalism in a sense, but so has Britain and France. In the summer of 2016, Great Britain left the EU after a nationwide referendum, this is also commonly known as BREXIT. After 53% of British citizens voted to leave the EU, the reasons for Britain’s departure began to become more clear. UKIP party leader Nigel Farage and other members of Parliament saw the faults globalization was bringing upon other European states such as Germany and Sweden. Mass immigration had been occurring in both Germany and Sweden; these immigrants are coming from countries such as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, predominantly Islamic nations. Islamic radicalism has been a serious issue on the international stage in the last decade. Many of these Muslim migrants are not assimilating to German or Swedish culture and terrorism in these countries has been on a steep incline. Great Britain did not wish this upon themselves, hence they rejected globalism and left the EU.

Not only has nationalism been on the rise in America and Great Britain, but there has also been a rise in France. Presidential Candidate Marine Le Pen is a member of the French Political Party National Front, a right-winged nationalistic party. Le Pen is leading in all of the major French polls as of April 2, 2017. If she manages to secure a victory in late April, the nationalistic rise will only increase in France. Like Farage of Great Britain, Le Pen advocates for the termination of Islamic migration into France and the promotion of keeping jobs in France. It is also likely that Le Pen could lead the country from exiting the EU.

A major theme for the rejection of globalization is due to immigration. Many countries are tired of allowing millions of immigrants into their countries when terrorism is on the rise. Additionally countries want to keep jobs in their own countries in order to increase revenue in   their respected national economies. Nationalism is on the rise, but more importantly it seems that the rejection of globalization is even more so.