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White nationalism

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White nationalism is a political and social movement to advance the social and economic interests of white or Caucasian people.

White nationalists explicitly deny being white supremacists, arguing that they merely wish for each group of people with shared heritage, including nonwhites, to be allowed to promote and preserve its heritage, and do not desire to oppress or dominate other races as racial supremacists do. Critics argue that white nationalism intersects with, or is a euphemism for, white supremacy or white racism.

White nationalist beliefs

White nationalism is the belief that white people have a common identity and common interests, a belief proponents argue is considered uncontroversial when advocated by any other ethnic or racial group. Pursuit of these interests includes the establishment of organisations to promote issues important to white people. Specific policies include the preservation and teaching of European history and culture, and opposition to economic or social discrimination against whites.

White separatism

Some white nationalists also support white separatism, the belief that white people should live separately from non-whites, either in separate all-white nations, in separate white areas of existing nations (see also racial segregation), or in separate "anarchist" communities (see national anarchism). While white separatism does not promote general expulsion or genocide, critics of the movement have noted that the land considered by these white separatists to belong to the white race frequently includes places such as the Americas which have major non-white population groups.

The concept of race

The term "race" itself is somewhat contentious. Anthropologists tend to be of the opinion that the concept has little or no scientific value, while biologists generally view it as meaningful and useful. Many geneticists, such as Cavalli-Sforza, have insisted that the term be abandoned in a scientific context, and prefer the term "population group," because it better describes the idea of a breeding population which has been more or less endogamous for enough generations to develop its own characteristic phenotype.

Whatever the case, the word "race" still holds social value for people who base their personal identity (in part or in whole) on genetic characteristics that affect outward appearance. In all areas of the world, personal identity reflects the degree of awareness and connectivity to the outside world and foreign cultures, thus "race issues" tend to be seen as related to tribalism, xenophobia, ethnocentrism, and other "culture wars" paradigms.

Similar concerns that may be a catalyst for a distinction of personal identity are religion, gender, and language, and differences regarding these issues are often manifested in conflict of one form or another.

Definition of "white"

White nationalists often have a definition of whiteness that is more limited than official usage. Whiteness, in this case, requires an ancestry that is solely or overwhelmingly European, and also usually a psychological identification with European culture and heritage, as well as a commitment to advance its interests. Therefore, Middle Eastern, South Asian and North African peoples are typically not considered white by White nationalists, even though they are Caucasian.

But as with many other racially minded groups, definitions of "white" used by White nationalists can vary greatly. White nationalists who follow the ideology of Nordicism and Germanism only see Northern Europeans who are Nordic or Germanic as white, shunning Southern and Eastern Europeans, and sometimes dark Celtic peoples as well. Pan-Europeanism is an opposing view that embraces all ethnic members of European Christendom. Pan-Aryanism adds to this in-group certain non-European (and often non-Christian) Caucasoids from West Asia and North Africa who are considered remnants of Indo-European or pre-Semitic races based on their language or physical attributes. There are also those who push the idea of a White Proto-European race, and use the Y-chromosome haplogroup R1b as a guide to their ancestry. This genetic marker is associated with the earliest settlers of Europe who took refuge in Iberia during the Ice Age. Today, it's predominant in Western European populations, particularly Celts and Iberians, especially Basques.

Many Christian White nationalists also disclude from being white: atheists, Catholics, or anyone following a creed other than Protestant Christianity. This view, often referred to as Christian Identity, is most popular in the American south. It is a core belief in many modern iterations of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as a panoply of other racially minded groups.

On the other hand, some Southern Europeans, especially in Greece, but also in Italy and Spain, consider Northern Europeans as second-class whites, or descendants of barbarians, based on the perception that most civilizations associated with the white peoples were actually Mediterranean.

History of white nationalism

White nationalists claim that their beliefs were widely held in the past. For example, they quote Abraham Lincoln, who, addressing the black community, wrote:

There is much to encourage you. For the sake of your race you should sacrifice something of your present comfort for the purpose of being as grand in that respect as the white people...General Washington himself endured greater physical hardships than if he had remained a British subject, yet he was a happy man because he had engaged in benefiting his race, in doing something for the children of his neighbors, having none of his own. The colony of Liberia has been in existence a long time. In a certain sense it is a success. The old President of Liberia, Roberts, has just been with me--the first time I ever saw him. He says they have within the bounds of that colony between three and four hundred thousand people, or more than in some of our old States, such as Rhode Island or Delaware, or in some of our newer States, and less than in some of our larger ones...The question is, if the colored people are persuaded to go anywhere, why not there?

Address On Colonization To A Deputation Of Colored Men. Washington, August 14, 1862. [1]

A critical view

White nationalism is more controversial than other forms of ethnic or racial identity politics because it is often allied with ideas of inherent white supremacy; in many countries it is a backlash movement against gains made by other racial and ethnic groups against the unequal power of privilege of the dominant white population. White nationalists respond that they are simply organizing in ways similar to organisations such as the NAACP and other groups that are generally not seen as controversial, and that to accuse white-nationalist groups of racism while approving of, or tolerating, other racially-oriented groups is hypocritical and racist against white people.

Viewed in a more critical light, White nationalism is sometimes described as a reaction by whites who believe they are disenfranchised by the rise of liberal multicultural ideologies based around tolerance and inclusiveness. While posturing as civil rights groups advocating the interests of their ethnic or racial group, white nationalist groups frequently draw on the racist and nativist traditions of the American Ku Klux Klan and the British National Front [2] cloaking themselves with symbols of patriotism, Christianity and Western civilization. In some cases white nationalism is allied with Neo-Fascism or Neo-Nazism[3].

Connection to White supremacists and Neo-Nazis

The term "white nationalist" has been used by neo-Nazi, White supremacy, and Christian Identity groups, which at times have overlapping ideologies based on the perceived necessity to maintain whites as a distinct race. Some of these groups have condoned violence in the past, and some have built up strong followings in prisons. Most white nationalists distance themselves from this sector.

White nationalist groups

American Renaissance, Council of Conservative Citizens[4], the National Alliance[5] and National Vanguard[6] are four leading examples in the United States, but antiracist groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center prefer to call them racist or white supremacist. In Europe, several far right political parties such as the British National Party, France's Front National, the Austrian Freedom Party, and the Italian Northern League have won support based on platforms widely seen as advocating racial separatism, traditional nationalism, and anti-immigrant xenophobia. Some critics of more mainstream conservatism in the United States and the United Kingdom go further and claim an undercurrent of white nationalism exists in right-wing politics (i.e Willie Horton, Pat Buchanan, Enoch Powell)- a charge most conservatives contest. Many white nationalists themselves reject the concept that people like Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan are "one of them." According to BNP leader Nick Griffin, Ireland is now the only Western European country without a white nationalist political party, and they claim this is largely due to intimidation of organisers by members of the Provisional IRA.

See also

Pro

White Supremacist

Con

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