Rekpene Bassey
The resurgence of ethnonationalism and anti-immigrant politics in the 21st century is not an episodic aberration but a structural response to profound global disruptions. Economic volatility, technological transformation, climate stress, pandemics, and geopolitical conflict have unsettled established social contracts.
In this environment of uncertainty, appeals to blood, soil, and sovereignty acquire renewed emotional force. Ethnonationalism becomes, for many, a psychological refuge and a political weapon.
At its core, ethnonationalism thrives on perceived displacement: economic, cultural, and political. Rapid globalization has integrated markets faster than it has harmonized social protections.
Entire communities, particularly in post-industrial regions, experience wage stagnation, deindustrialization, and declining social mobility.
In such contexts, migration is often framed not as a structural outcome of global capitalism but as its most visible symbol.
As political scientists like Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart argue in Cultural Backlash, economic shocks intensify underlying cultural insecurities, especially among groups who perceive themselves as losing status in increasingly multicultural societies.
Even so, economic grievances alone cannot explain the potency of anti-immigrant politics.
Cultural anxiety, particularly around identity, religion, and demographic change, operates as an accelerant. Global migration patterns challenge homogenizing myths of national origin.
For those whose understanding of nationhood is ethno-cultural rather than civic, diversity is interpreted not as enrichment but as dilution.
Political entrepreneurs capitalize on this fear, recasting immigration as an existential threat to sovereignty, security, and moral order.
The crisis of trust in institutions further amplifies these dynamics. Financial crises, corruption scandals, uneven pandemic responses, and widening inequality have eroded faith in political elites.
When citizens lose confidence in the fairness of institutions, they become more receptive to narratives that blame outsiders.
Anti-immigrant rhetoric thus serves a dual function: it simplifies complex global problems and redirects accountability away from domestic governance failures.
Neoliberal capitalism plays a central role in this process. Decades of deregulation, privatization, and fiscal austerity have weakened welfare states while enhancing capital mobility.
Labor markets become precarious, social protections thin, and public goods strained. In such settings, immigrants are often portrayed as competitors for scarce resources.
This narrative obscures the structural drivers of inequality and shifts responsibility from policy choices to vulnerable populations.
As scholar Arun Kundnani contends, contemporary security regimes frequently racialized migration, reconstituting older colonial hierarchies under the language of counterterrorism and border control.
Security discourse itself has been transformed. Since the attacks of September 11 attacks, migration has increasingly been securitized.
The conflation of asylum seekers with terrorism, crime, or insurgency legitimizes expansive surveillance powers and militarized borders.
The migrant becomes not merely an economic actor but a potential security risk. This securitization creates a feedback loop: restrictive policies generate irregular migration, which in turn reinforces perceptions of disorder.
Climate change and protracted conflicts add further complexity. Environmental degradation, desertification, and extreme weather events displace millions annually.
Wars in fragile states compound humanitarian crises. Migration under such conditions is less a choice than a survival strategy.
However, destination countries often frame these flows as “crises” rather than as foreseeable outcomes of global interdependence and ecological stress. The language of crisis narrows moral imagination and privileges deterrence over solidarity.
Demographic change in aging societies introduces additional paradoxes. Many advanced economies require migrant labour to sustain growth, innovation, and social security systems.
Nonetheless, political narratives frequently resist this demographic reality. The tension between economic necessity and cultural resistance produces unstable policy regimes; welcoming labour while policing belonging.
Resistance to ethnonationalism operates across multiple fronts. Grassroots movements, faith-based coalitions, labour unions, and migrant-led organizations contest exclusionary policies.
Strategic litigation defends asylum rights and challenges unlawful detention practices. Cities increasingly adopt “sanctuary” frameworks that prioritize social integration over punitive enforcement. These initiatives illustrate that subnational actors can recalibrate the politics of belonging.
International cooperation is equally essential. Migration is inherently transnational; unilateral border fortification cannot address root causes.
Cooperative frameworks that integrate climate adaptation, conflict prevention, fair trade, and development financing are indispensable.
Multilateralism, though politically contested, remains the most viable mechanism for managing interconnected crises.
An alternative paradigm, sometimes described as inclusive or civic nationalism, offers a path beyond ethnic exclusivity. Civic nationalism grounds belonging in shared constitutional values rather than ancestry. It recognizes that identity is dynamic and that pluralism can coexist with social cohesion.
Countries that successfully integrate diversity tend to invest in education, equitable growth, and participatory governance, thereby reducing zero-sum perceptions.
Policy responses must therefore confront structural inequality. Progressive taxation, robust social safety nets, and inclusive labour policies reduce competition narratives.
Investment in local communities, both migrant and non-migrant, can mitigate resentment. Crucially, transparent communication about migration’s economic and demographic impacts counters misinformation.
Strengthening democratic institutions is equally vital. Judicial independence, media freedom, and electoral integrity protect minority rights against majoritarian excess.
When institutions are perceived as impartial and effective, scapegoating loses traction. Conversely, institutional decay invites authoritarian populism.
Civil society plays a bridging role, fostering dialogue and cross-cultural engagement. Education systems that promote critical thinking and historical literacy can inoculate against xenophobic propaganda.
Narratives matter: societies must articulate stories of shared futures rather than nostalgic myths of homogeneous pasts.
Ultimately, the rise of ethnonationalism reflects deeper anxieties about control in an interdependent world. Borders symbolize sovereignty, but they cannot insulate societies from climate change, pandemics, or financial contagion. Durable stability depends not on exclusion but on resilient institutions and equitable growth.
The challenge before policymakers is not merely to manage migration but to reconstruct social contracts eroded by inequality and mistrust. If globalization has outpaced governance, then the solution lies not in retreat but in reform.
Societies that reconcile diversity with justice will be better positioned to navigate the turbulence of the 21st century.
As philosopher Étienne Balibar observed, the borders of the nation are as much internal as external. They are drawn through institutions, opportunities, and everyday practices of belonging.
The task of our time is to ensure that these internal borders do not harden into walls of exclusion but evolve into bridges of democratic coexistence.
Bassey is the President of the African Council on Narcotics, Drug Prevention, and Security Specialist
