America is used to setting global trends. But long before Donald Trump vowed to “Make America Great Again”, China, Russia and Turkey had already established the fashion for nostalgic nationalism.
The Chinese version of Mr Trump’s famous pledge was President Xi Jinping’s vow to lead a “great rejuvenation of the Chinese people”, which was made in 2012. That same year, Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin as president and embarked on a national project easily summarised as “Make Russia Great Again”. In Turkey, meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks national inspiration from the glories of the Ottoman Empire.
The political climates in China, Turkey and Russia provide clear warning about the dangers of nostalgic nationalism. In all three countries a yearning to restore national greatness is combined with a government-promoted campaign against hostile outside forces and a focus on antinational “enemies within”.
