Post WW2 it was clear nationalism, populism & illiberal governments (a) fail people (b) destroy unpopular groups (c) cause aggressive war. Prescription, as good as any we ever devised, was international economic, legal & social alignment. EU, ECHR etc. We dismantle at our peril
It's easy in times of relative peace and prosperity to imagine we can go it alone, re-activate dormant nationalist identities, put up walls. But lessons of the past are there for us, plain as day: 'sovereignty' (= nationalism and exclusionary group identities) comes at a price
I don't want to be a harbinger of doom but the Corona Virus is unique but also a world crisis like any other because it causes fear and division. The question is are our national and international institutions sufficiently strong to withstand that?
All this highlights how much an act of epic historical selfishness the weakening of post-WW2 institutions binding liberal democracies such as EU, European Convention on Human Rights, United Nations is. We should know better. But we don't.
