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The Reform UK leader depicts his political party as a distinct phenomenon that has burst on to the world stage, its meteoric rise an remarkable historic moment. But this week, in every one of the continent's leading countries and from the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia to the United States and South America, far-right, anti-immigrant, anti-globalisation parties similar to his are also ahead in the public surveys.

During recent Czech voting, the rightwing, pro-Putin populist a prominent figure toppled the head of government Petr Fiala. National Rally, which has just forced the resignation of yet another French prime minister, is leading the polls for both the presidential race and the legislature. In the German nation, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is currently the most popular party. Hungary’s Fidesz party, Robert Fico’s pro-Russian Slovakian coalition and the Brothers of Italy are already in government, while the Freedom party of Austria (FPÖ), the Netherlands’ Freedom party (PVV) and Belgium’s Vlaams Belang – all hardline nationalists – are part of an international coalition of anti-internationalists, inspired by far-right propagandists such as a well-known figure, seeking to overthrow the international rule of law, weaken fundamental freedoms and destroy international collaboration.

Rise of Populist Nationalism

This nationalist wave reveals a new and unavoidable truth that supporters of democracy overlook at our peril: an authoritarian ethnic nationalism – once thought toppled with the Berlin Wall – has replaced neoliberalism as the leading belief system of our age, giving us a world of firsts: “America first”, “Indian focus”, “China first”, “Russian primacy”, “group priority” and often “exclusive group focus” regimes. It is this ethnic nationalism that helps explain why the world is now composed of 91 autocracies and only 88 democracies, and this ideology is the driver behind the breaches of global human rights standards not just by Russia in Ukraine but in almost every instance of global strife.

Root Causes Explained

It is important to understand the root causes, common to almost every country, that have fuelled this new age of nationalism. It starts with a widely felt sense that a globalisation that was open but not inclusive has been a unregulated system that has not been fair to all.

For more than a decade, political figures have not only been slow to respond to the many people who feel left out and marginalized, but also to the shifting dynamics of global economic power, moving us from a unipolar world once dominated by the United States to a multipolar world of rival major nations, and from a rules-based order to a might-makes-right approach. The nationalist ideology that this has provoked means open commerce is giving way to protectionism. Where economics used to drive government policies, the politics of nationalism is now driving economic decisions, and already over a hundred nations are running mercantilist policies marked out by reshoring and ally-focused trade and by bans on international commerce, foreign funding and technology transfer, lowering international cooperation to its lowest ebb since 1945.

Optimism in Public Opinion

However, there is hope. The cement is still wet, and even as it hardens we can find hope in the common sense of the global public. In a poll conducted for a prominent organization, of thousands of individuals in 34 countries we find a clear majority are more resistant to an exclusionary nationalism and more willing to support global teamwork than many of the leaders who govern them.

Globally there is, perhaps surprisingly, only a small group of hardened anti-internationalists representing 16.5% of the global population (even if a quarter in today’s US) who either feel coexistence between diverse communities is unattainable or have a win-lose perspective that if they or their country do well, it has to be at the cost of others doing badly.

However there are another 21% at the other end, whom we might call dedicated globalists, who either still see cooperation across borders through free commerce as a mutually beneficial arrangement, or are what a prominent philosopher calls “rooted cosmopolitans”.

The Global Majority's Stance

The vast majority of the world's citizens are somewhere in between: not isolated patriots, as “America first” ideology would suggest, or all-in cosmopolitans. They are devoted to their country but don’t see the world as in a never-ending struggle between the “our side” and the “them”, opponents always divided from each other in an unbridgeable divide.

Are most moderates favor a obligation-light or a responsible global community? Are they willing to accept obligations beyond their local area or community boundaries? Yes, under specific circumstances. A first group, 22%, will back humanitarian action to relieve suffering and are ready to act out of altruism, backing emergency help for disaster zones. Those we might call “charitable” cooperation advocates empathize of others and believe in something bigger than themselves.

A second group comprising 22% are practical cooperators who want to know that any taxes paid for international development are spent well. And there is a third group, 21%, personally motivated collaborators, who will approve teamwork if they can see that it advantages them and their local areas, whether it be through guaranteeing them food on the table or peace and security.

Building a Cooperative Majority

Thus a definite majority can be constructed not just for emergency assistance if funds are used wisely but also for global action to deal with global problems, like environmental emergency and disease control, as long as this argument is presented on grounds of enlightened self-interest, and if we emphasize the reciprocal benefits that flow to them and their own country. And thus for those who have long questioned whether we work together from necessity or if we have a necessity for collaboration, the response is both.

And this openness to cooperate across borders shows how we can turn back the anti-foreigner sentiment: we can defeat today’s negative, isolated and often forceful and controlling nationalism that demonises newcomers, foreigners and “different groups” as long as we advocate for a optimistic, outward-looking and welcoming national pride that addresses people’s desire to belong and resonates with their everyday worries.

Tackling Key Issues

Although detailed surveys tell us that across the Western nations, illegal immigration is currently the top concern – and it's clear that it must quickly be managed effectively – the public sentiment data also tell us that the people are even more worried by what is happening in their own lives and within their immediate neighborhoods. Recently, a prominent leader spoke movingly about how what’s positive in the nation can overcome what’s bad, doing so precisely because in most developed nations, “dysfunctional” and “in decline” are the words people have for years most commonly cited when asked about both our financial system and community.

However, as the leader also pointed out, the far right is more interested in exploiting grievances than ending them. A Reform leader praised a ill-fated economic plan as “the best Conservative budget” since 1986. But he would also implement a comparable strategy – what was intended – the largest reductions in government programs. Reform’s plan to cut government expenditure by a huge sum would not repair struggling areas but ravage them, create social division and destroy any spirit of solidarity. Under a far-right government, you will not be able to afford to be ill, disabled, poor or at-risk. Every day from now on, and in every electoral district, Reform should be asked which medical facility, which school and which government service will be the first to be cut or closed.

Risks and Solutions

“Faragism” is neoliberalism at its most cruel, more destructive even than monetary policy, and spiteful far beyond austerity. What the people are indicating all over the west is that they want their leaders to restore our financial systems and our communities. “Reform” and its international partners should be revealed repeatedly for plans that would devastate both. And for those of us who believe our best days could be in the future, we can go beyond pointing out the party's contradictions by presenting a argument for a improved nation that appeals not just to idealists, but to pragmatists, to self-interest, and to the everyday compassion of the British people.