Nativism Imperils Postwar Order

LONDON — In the aftermath of World War II, the victorious Western countries forged institutions — NATO, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization — that aimed to keep the peace through collective military might and shared prosperity. They promoted democratic ideals and trade under the notion that coalitions were the antidote to destructive nationalism.

But now the model that has dominated geopolitical affairs for more than 70 years is being challenged by a surge of nationalism. In place of shared approaches to societal problems — from trade disputes, to security, to climate change — national interests dominate. “What we’ve seen is a kind of backlash to liberal democracy,” said Amandine Crespy, a political scientist at Free University Brussels (ULB) in Belgium. “Masses of people feel they have not been properly represented in liberal democracy.”

President Donald J. Trump’s election is the most potent manifestation of public anger. He has claimed a mandate to attack the global establishment and its institutions in the name of reasserting American primacy. He has injected uncertainty into the American commitment to NATO while calling the W.T.O. a “disaster.” Yet the United States, Canada and other European nations expelled Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain over the poisoning of a Russian defector in London, raising hopes that old alliances will endure.

But the United States is not the only power tearing at the foundations of the postwar order. Britain is abandoning the European Union, turning its back on the project whose very existence is an expression of faith that integration discourages hostilities. Italy just elevated two populist political parties with historical animosities against the bloc. Poland and Hungary have shackled the media, cracked down on public gatherings, and attacked the independence of their court systems. This re- emergence of authoritarian impulses has undercut a central thrust