Thread by @TerryReintke

We are currently experiencing an authoritarian wave in Europe. Old narratives around authoritarian nationalism are revived - sometimes newly interpreted, sometimes not.

The current Brexit debate is one example.

In nationalist authoritarian narratives a „we” is created which is supposed to always be stronger than the individual. That’s not new.

Today, in a neoliberal context signified by eroding traditional systems of solidarity this might appear even more appealing to some.

But this “we” is never really a “we”. It is merely used as a tool of oppression.

Because the notion of „we“ in these narratives is imagined as monolithic and excluding. It is a “we” vs. “the other” - demanding obedience and sacrifice of the individual towards the collective.

The preparation for the Brexit date is an example:

The coins, the gong, the national awakening rhetoric. All this is supposed to create a revived „we“.

Symbols replace the shaken trust in democratic representation. Doubt and disagreement are unwanted - even framed as a threat.

The fact that half of the population disagrees. That millions of people are scared. That everyone is going to lose rights and opportunities.

All of these facts are either completely denied, ridiculed or even worse: The people who speak up about it are stigmatised as traitors.

Instead of falling into authoritarian nationalist narratives a reconciling answer in a strong resilient democracy would be to hear the disagreement. To give it space.

I hope that there will be space. To heal the wounds of a divisive debate and to oppose this authoritarian trend.