One way or another, we all heard about the terms under the names "democracy" and "nationalism." In the world of politics, they are extremely popular. And if everything is more or less clear with the first, the second extremely often causes misunderstanding and heated debate among people. And not only today, but also in the past, and the century before last. What can we say about those cases when these two terms are combined. So what is national democracy? What reflects this political current and what is the origin of it?
Separate concepts
The word "democracy" is now literally on the lips of everyone who is at least somehow interested in politics. It means the power of the people, that is, decision-making exclusively by a majority vote. At the same time, political leaders must be elected on the basis of fair, legal and anonymous elections. It is the people in theory who have the fullness of power. Also one of the fundamental principles of a democratic regime is the fact that people govern themselves according to the Latin principle of pro bono publico, which means “for the common good”. That is, the goal of democracy is to satisfy the interests of the general public. Of course, this regime also cannot be imagined without universal equality in rights, freedoms and the rule of law.
What about nationalism? Due to the actions of the National Socialist Party, which ruled Germany in the forties, the term "nationalism" has gained an awful reputation. Now, by the way, the National Democratic Party of Germany is considered its successor, so the confusion is really understandable. The confusion is also largely due to the fact that people simply do not see the difference between the two concepts. And it is very significant.
Nazism preaches the supremacy of one race, contempt and total genocide of all other races. It is based on fascism, which, in turn, includes nationalism, dictatorship, and absolute rejection of all the stranger and stranger. But nationalism itself is the recognition of any nation as the highest value. Nationalists defend the rights and freedoms of their nation. This ideology unites people of one nation regardless of their social status.
Classical nationalists fight for the rights of their nation. And the Nazis in the process specifically call their nation the highest and fight not only for the rights of their nation, but also for the absence of these same rights from other nations. We can say that the National Socialists raised nationalism to an absolutely insane degree. Many also call Nazism an extreme form of nationalism.
Definition
It is easy to assume that National Democracy combines the ideology of democracy and the attitude to the nation as the highest value. It is also one of the most popular political ideologies, which suggests that only a nation living in one particular country can enjoy state rights and freedoms.
Origin
Like nationalism as a whole, national democracy arose during the distant French Revolution. Then the idea of creating states in which the desire of the nation living on its territory was crucial was extremely popular. That is, all citizens of this state share one culture, language and moral values.
Variety
National liberalism is especially popular in our time because of the European migration problem. He advocates the absolute non-interference of the state in the economy, as well as for a country in which the interests of a certain nation would prevail over the interests of everyone else. Of course, they are also mostly for restricting migration flows.
The Russian Federation
The first national democrat in Russia can safely be considered Mikhail Osipovich Menshikov, who lived in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century. He was one of the few philosophers of that time and the most active patriot of his country.
Today, National Democracy in the Russian Federation is represented by the parties: Democratic Choice, National Democratic Party, and New Force. There is also a socio-political movement "Common cause". The main priority they consider the creation of a sovereign Russian national state. National Democrats also want to abolish the republics and separate traditionally non-Russian territories from the Russian Federation, for example, the North Caucasus. Also, one of the points of their program is the transition to the western path of development. This means that the national democrats of the Russian Federation for the most part deny the theory that Russia is moving along its unique historical path.
Of course, one cannot do without serious restrictions on obtaining Russian citizenship. Migration flow from the south-east is also proposed to be limited. National Democrats actively support the idea of introducing a visa regime with the countries of Central Asia. They also want to counteract the spread of Islam and preserve the historical Russian culture. Also, many of the National Democrats seek to completely abolish the draft in the army and switch to contact service.
Members of National Democratic parties argue that elections should be held at all levels. And they also pursue an anti-imperialist policy, that is, the National Democrats say that Russia should cease to claim in the territory of the former Soviet Union.