When Donald Trump arrived in Scotland Friday morning, hours after the
United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, the presumptive
Republican presidential nominee was quick to draw parallels between the
U.K.'s political earthquake, and his own campaign for president.
"People want to take their country back," Trump said, "They want to have independence, in a sense. And you see it in Europe, all over Europe."
And while Scotland itself voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union, Trump is right. Right-wing nationalist movements, fueled by anger toward political elites and mistrust of immigration — and primarily backed by white voters — are gaining more and more momentum on the continent.
"This is not a unique phenomenon to the United States, and 2016 is not a short moment that will pass," says Yascha Mounk, who teaches political theory at Harvard University and has studied the rise of nationalist movements. "This is a real populist turn that has been happening for the last 15 or 20 years."
In recent decades, nationalist movements have shifted from vocal minorities to powerful parties that gained control of governments in places like Hungary, have lost national elections by the slimmest of margins in countries like Austria, and, this week, forced the United Kingdom out of the European Union.
Read more: Donald Trump's Presidential Campaign Has A Lot In Common With Brexit And Other Nationalist Movements : NPR
"People want to take their country back," Trump said, "They want to have independence, in a sense. And you see it in Europe, all over Europe."
And while Scotland itself voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union, Trump is right. Right-wing nationalist movements, fueled by anger toward political elites and mistrust of immigration — and primarily backed by white voters — are gaining more and more momentum on the continent.
"This is not a unique phenomenon to the United States, and 2016 is not a short moment that will pass," says Yascha Mounk, who teaches political theory at Harvard University and has studied the rise of nationalist movements. "This is a real populist turn that has been happening for the last 15 or 20 years."
In recent decades, nationalist movements have shifted from vocal minorities to powerful parties that gained control of governments in places like Hungary, have lost national elections by the slimmest of margins in countries like Austria, and, this week, forced the United Kingdom out of the European Union.
Read more: Donald Trump's Presidential Campaign Has A Lot In Common With Brexit And Other Nationalist Movements : NPR
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