Globalisation and supranational integration have had a profound impact on the decision-making authority of nation states. Davide Angelucci, Luca Carrieri and Nicolò Conti examine how the concept of “sovereignism” has emerged in this context as a vehicle for reestablishing traditional forms of sovereignty.

Sovereignty has traditionally been understood as a form of organisation of power exerted within a bounded territory and a clearly defined political community that does not recognise any superior authority. But with the ascendance of globalisation and supranational integration, a gradual de-territorialisation of the centres of power has progressively weakened the decision-making authority of the state.

In the context of liberal democracies, the concept of sovereignty has also been specified in terms of “popular sovereignty” – an expression of the popular will through mechanisms of representative democracy at the state level. Thus, when the traditional authority of the state is displaced, but is not accompanied by new compensatory mechanisms of popular representation, it can be perceived by large shares of citizens as detrimental.

This has given rise to the concept of “sovereignism”, which manifests itself as a desire to “get back control” – that is, to return to the traditional understanding of sovereignty based on the idea of mutually exclusive territories defined by the traditional form of the state. A key concern is that more intense flows of capital and people across the world have reduced the capacity of states to control their borders, while at the same time, globally integrated economic and political systems have often failed to be responsive to citizens’ demands.

Sovereignism in Europe

Sovereignism can be seen as the ideological interpretation of sovereignty at a time when there is mounting concern about the capacity of new and remote centres of power to respond effectively to domestic demands. A sovereignist political upsurge has become visible, with citizens calling for states to take back control over laws, policy and international interactions, as well as over protection of the self-identified interests of the people.

Brexit can be seen as a paradigmatic reflection of this phenomenon, but sovereignty claims have also become widespread in many other countries. In general, sovereignist claims are articulated through positions in favour of a restoration of the power of the state, vis-à-vis supranational institutions and economic, political and cultural integration. Although these elements can co-exist and represent the most hardline version of sovereignism, it is also possible that only some of them are present in one’s stance, pointing to different nuances within sovereignism.

In a recent study, we show that the values of sovereignty are increasingly being reclaimed in European countries. They resonate strongly with many voters and have been pushed by parties to the heart of political competition. We were able to document that sovereignism was traditionally confined to radical right parties and to a lesser extent right-of-centre parties more generally. But sovereignism has recently become a more ideologically cross-cutting phenomenon, with radical left parties also displaying comparatively more sovereignist positions (compared to ideologically centrist parties).

The dynamics of sovereignism

The results of our analysis show that party-based sovereignism has changed over time. On the one hand, this has been linked to party agency, with some parties moving towards more sovereignist positions. On the other hand, it reflects broader contextual transformations, including the state of the national economy and the public mood. Through a combination of data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey on party positions, Eurobarometer surveys and other official statistics, we were able to document several dynamics concerning sovereignism.

First, we found evidence confirming the radical left’s adoption of issues concerning sovereignty, with greater emphasis on economic sovereignty. These are issues that in the past were more typical of the (radical) right. Second, we found that better economic performance depresses, on average, party sovereignism.

Third, we traced a tendency of radical parties in general to be more in tune with the demands raised by society when they reclaim the values of sovereignty. Indeed, when we analysed the positional shifts of radical parties on sovereignty issues, we found these associated with shifts in the mean position of the public. Thus, the public mood favoured the spread of party-based sovereignism and radical parties were the most aligned with peoples’ mood. This may well explain their electoral success in many countries.

Finally, from our analysis, it appears that sovereignty issues mobilise both citizens and parties. It is clear these issues have become more profitable in the electoral market and thus for party competition. All of this suggests we are observing a transformation that requires careful monitoring – one that could challenge, inherently, the very notion of Europe as the main political project on the European continent.

For more information, see the authors’ accompanying paper in Government & Opposition

Note: This article gives the views of the authors, not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy or the London School of Economics. Featured image credit: Hideaki Miyake / Shutterstock.com