Commentary
What is the ‘Western nationalism’ Meloni promoted to Trump?
Meloni is undoubtedly very ambitious, and cherishes the hope, if not to take the lead, certainly to play a central role in transforming the European Union into a “civilization” that takes on not only a cultural, but a geopolitical role.
What is “Western nationalism”? We know that the expression was used by Giorgia Meloni during her conversation with Trump. According to Robert Tait, The Guardian's Washington correspondent, the Italian prime minister mentioned it while pointing out that it was a new expression and she wasn’t sure it was appropriate. However, that was not the first time Meloni had used, in English, the formula “Western nationalism.”
She had already done so in October, also in the United States, during the ceremony in which she was presented with an award by the conservative think tank Atlantic Council. In her speech, Meloni attributed the expression to Anthony J. Constantini, author of an article published on the Politico website on Sept. 4, 2023, roughly a year earlier, entitled “Meloni's Western Nationalism.”
His commentary was full of praise for the leader of Fratelli d'Italia. In particular, Constantini contrasts the “small nationalism” of leaders such as Orbán with a different attitude that he deems to be of greater political scope and ambition: “This Western nationalism, which holds the survival and flourishing of Western civilization as its goal — as opposed to just focusing on one’s own state — is new to the European scene. And as such, it has the chance to totally rework how EU politics functions.”
In essence, Constantini claimed that the innovation introduced by Meloni consisted in overcoming “classical” nationalism, so to speak, which sees nations as potentially in conflict, and replacing it with a “Western” variant, centered on a “civilization” and not a national identity.
It is worth noting that, in her conversation with Trump, after saying she was not sure that “Western nationalism” was “the right word” for her position, Meloni added: “I know that when I speak about the West mainly, I don’t speak about geographical space. I speak about the civilization, and I want to make that civilization stronger.”
One can say that this is indeed the same thesis Constantini alluded to. All in all, it is understandable that Meloni did not provide Trump with any bibliographical references. We know that the man is not inclined to dwell on one topic of conversation, especially if he is not the one speaking, but I think it is worth asking why Meloni was so impressed by the remarks of someone whose credentials are limited to being a very active PhD student (Constantini writes for several conservative-leaning websites) with an undergraduate degree from St. Petersburg State University.
The most plausible explanation is that Meloni has found “Western nationalism” to be a somewhat congenial formula which also harkens back to an old idea of the party that was the backdrop for her political education.
I am thinking here of the “Europe Nation” that was once put forward against the mercantile and materialist project of the European communities.
Things have changed a lot since that formula circulated in the internal discussions of the Italian fascist and post-fascist right. Today, we have a European Union shot through with anxieties that have pushed several moderate and conservative parties to move to the right. In this new climate, what was once a thesis invoked mainly to stand out without going so far as to say one is anti-European, could become (appropriately translated into English) the name of a hegemonic project.
Meloni is undoubtedly very ambitious, and cherishes the hope, if not to take the lead, certainly to play a central role in transforming the European Union into a “civilization” that takes on not only a cultural, but a geopolitical role.
It’s true that “Western nationalism” is different from classical nationalism, that “inflamed condition of national consciousness” – as Isaiah Berlin called it – that was among the causes of two world wars. But this is not to say that it is a benign, tame political idea that should not cause concern. The notion of “Western civilization” that needs to be restored and protected from the threat of the “others” has been a white supremacist theme since the American Civil War, and perhaps it is no coincidence that the hint picked up by Meloni originated from overseas.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/nazionalismo-occidentale-ecco-cosa-intende on 2025-04-19