European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

BODERLINE EUROPEANS: NATIONALISMS AND FUNDAMENTALISMS 133those which also take present-day nation-States as reference points butthat —with regards to the typology that was outlined beforehand—distance themselves from the ethically positive spectrum and markedlymove towards the negative one (biologist, closed, with dense culture,authoritarian). The French nationalism led by Le Pen can be regarded asthe initiator of this path, but unfortunately it is not the only one.This type of nationalism can be associated with the other notionthat will be developed in this presentation. Indeed, we might define itas fundamentalist insofar as the orthodox interpretation of the essenceof the nation is dogmatically assumed, thus deriving into generalauthoritarianism and the exclusion of those who are not considerednationals. Furthermore, this is a explicit and combative type ofnationalism, vis-à-vis the peaceful official nationalism of traditionalparties. It has become combative in front of two phenomena that areperceived as threats to the identity and the survival of the nation:immigration and the delegation of power to a superior entity. It is notthe aim of this presentation to formerly analyse and denounce itsexclusive and racist drifting attitude towards foreigners. However, there issomething that we should highlight here: the fact that if its xenophobiais not conveniently cut short by institutions and civil society andthrough political, social and educational measures (amongst others), itwill not only produce victims but also negatively corrupt the Europeanidentity that we are building, even if they never get to govern aspolitical parties as such (in fact, they subtly tend to corrupt otherparties). With regards to its obsession with a harsh State sovereignty (anation = a fully independent State) from which the idea of a political“Europeanness” is strongly distrusted, what ought to be said is that, inthe present-day conditions of globalization and universal sensitivenesstowards human right, this “nationality principle” is old-fashioned, tosay the least. Even if we defended sovereignty as a last resort for thenations, such circumstances call for it to be exercised in flexible ways—delegations, creation of diverse networks, etc.— which must beexplored. The construction of the European Union is precisely anexperience in this sense; an experience which needs to be carefullyaccomplished, and in the light of which these fundamentalist nationalismsconstitute an obvious obstacle.The third bloc of nationalisms we ought to bear in mind is that ofminority nationalisms within States. Amongst them, differences areobvious, because there are some which are clearly liberal-democratic,such as the Catalonian or the Scottish, and others which havedegenerated into terrorism, such as ETA’s version of Basque nationalism.Regarding the latter, it is obvious that what has been previously said