We have all heard about the terms "democracy" and "nationalism" in one way or another. In the world of politics, they are extremely popular. And if everything is more or less clear with the first, then the second extremely often causes misunderstanding and heated debate among people. And not only today, but also in the past, and in the century before last. What can we say about those cases when these two terms are combined. So what is national democracy? What does this political movement reflect and what is its origin?
Analysis of concepts separately
The word "democracy" is now on the lips of literally everyone who is in any way interested in politics. It means the power of the people, that is, the adoption of decisions exclusively by a majority of votes. At the same time, political leaders should be elected on the basis of fair, legal and anonymous elections. It is the people in theoryhas full power. Also, one of the fundamental principles of a democratic regime is the fact that the people govern themselves according to the Latin principle pro bono publico, which means "for the common good." That is, the goal of democracy is to satisfy the interests of the general public. Of course, this regime also cannot be imagined without universal equality in rights, freedoms and the rule of law.
What about nationalism? Because of the actions of the National Socialist Party that ruled Germany in the forties, the term "nationalism" acquired a terrible reputation. Now, by the way, the National Democratic Party of Germany is considered its successor, so the confusion is really understandable. Much of the confusion is also due to the fact that people simply do not see the difference between the two concepts. And it is very significant.
Nazism preaches the supremacy of one race, contempt and complete genocide of all other races. It is based on fascism, which, in turn, includes nationalism, dictatorship and the absolute rejection of everything alien and unfamiliar. But in itself, nationalism is the recognition of any nation as the highest value. Nationalists defend the rights and freedoms of their nation. This ideology unites people of one nation regardless of their social status.
Classic nationalists fight for the rights of their nation. And in the process, the Nazis specifically call their nation the highest and fight not only for the rights of their nation, but also for the absence of these very rights from other nations. It can be said that the National Socialists erected nationalismto an absolutely insane degree. Many also refer to Nazism as an extreme form of nationalism.
Definition
It is easy to assume that national democracy combines the ideology of democracy and the attitude towards the nation as the highest value. It is also one of the most popular political ideologies, which suggests that only a nation living in one particular country can enjoy state rights and freedoms.
Origination
Like nationalism in general, national democracy was born during the distant Great French Revolution. Then the idea of creating states in which the desire of the nation living on its territory plays the most important role was extremely popular. That is, all citizens of this state share the same culture, language and moral values.
Variety
National liberalism is especially popular nowadays because of the European migration problem. He stands for the absolute non-interference of the state in the economy, as well as for a country in which the interests of a certain nation would prevail over the interests of all others. Of course, they are also for the most part in favor of restricting migration flows.
Russian Federation
The first National Democrat of Russia can be safely considered Mikhail Osipovich Menshikov, who lived in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century. He was one of the few philosophers of that time and the most active patriot of his country.
Today, national democracy in the Russian Federation is represented by the parties: "Democratic Choice", "National Democratic Party" and "New Force". There is also a socio-political movement "Common Cause". Their main priority is the creation of a sovereign Russian national state. The national democrats also want to abolish the republics and separate traditionally non-Russian territories from the Russian Federation, such as the North Caucasus. Also, one of the points of their program is the transition to the Western path of development. This means that the national democrats of the Russian Federation largely reject the theory that Russia is moving along its own unique historical path.
Of course, one cannot do without serious restrictions on obtaining Russian citizenship. The migration flow from the southeast is also proposed to be limited. The National Democrats actively support the idea of introducing a visa regime with the countries of Central Asia. They also want to counteract the spread of Islam and preserve the historically established Russian culture. Also, many of the National Democrats are striving to completely abolish conscription and switch to contact service.
Members of national democratic parties are reasoning that elections should be held at all levels. And they are also pursuing an anti-imperialist policy, that is, the national democrats say that Russia should stop claiming the territory of the former Soviet Union.
