John M. | Red Phoenix correspondent | Colorado–

In a period characterized by extensive global connectivity through trade, migration, and digital networks, human societies are demonstrating a marked tendency toward distinct tribalistic identities. Notable phenomena include xenophobia, defined as apprehension or hostility toward foreign individuals; chauvinistic nationalism, denoting an assertive belief in national superiority often linked to exclusionary practices; and militarist-annexationist tendencies, typified by territorial expansion via military force.

These ideologies exert significant influence on contemporary geopolitical dynamics, domestic policy formation, and cultural discourse. Their emergence is attributable not only to psychological factors but also to structural responses such as capitalist crises, elite consolidation of authority, and strategic manipulation of working-class interests. Ruling groups frequently employ these narratives to undermine global labor solidarity, redirect economic dissatisfaction, and justify imperial policies.

These trends have intensified, spurred by ongoing conflicts, electoral outcomes favoring far-right governments, and widening socioeconomic inequality.

The resurgence of ethnonationalism and xenophobic policies presents serious risks to global stability, human rights, and sustained economic progress. Such policies undermine international cooperation on transnational challenges, including climate change and pandemic response. For instance, unilateral border closures and vaccine nationalism during the COVID-19 pandemic delayed equitable vaccine distribution and prolonged the public-health crisis in highly interdependent regions. Ethnonationalist and chauvinistic ideologies frequently correlate with increased political violence and the erosion of democratic norms. In the United States, the FBI reported an 11% increase in hate crimes from 2020 to 2021, with anti-Asian incidents notably linked to inflammatory “China virus” rhetoric. Similar patterns of minority suppression and media restriction have accompanied nationalist surges in multiple jurisdictions.

From an economic perspective, protectionist measures associated with nationalist agendas typically generate substantial net welfare losses. The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European single market and customs union following the 2016 Brexit referendum, driven in significant part by anti-immigration and sovereignty-focused nationalism, hasreduced British GDP by 8%.

At the geopolitical level, ethnonationalist narratives have served as partial justification for territorial revisionism and military escalation, as seen inTurkey’s cross-border operations in northern Syria (2016–2019) — framed by the AKP government as the reclamation of a “safe zone” to protect ethnic Turks and repatriate Syrian refugees while neutralizing Kurdish YPG militias portrayed as existential threats to Turkish national unity. Unchecked, this resurgence risks accelerating a broader shift toward authoritarian governance and state-sponsored chauvinism, intensifying the exploitation and disempowerment of working-class communities worldwide through suppressed wages, eroded labor protections, and the scapegoating of migrant and minority workers.

Militarist-annexationist policies serve as a strategic means by which ruling groups maintain their dominance, often resulting in adverse effects for the working class. In response to stagnating profits and over-accumulation concerns, business interests may leverage nationalist sentiment to channel surplus labor into the military-industrial sector, thereby converting unemployed individuals into military recruits and directing public funds toward corporate gains.

Annexationist conflicts aim to secure access to resources and affordable labor markets for transnational corporations, frequently drawing conscripts predominantly from economically disadvantaged regions; for instance, in the Saudi/UAE-led war in Yemen since 2015, the invading coalition has relied heavily on tens of thousands of Sudanese child and adult recruits from Darfur and other marginalized regions, while Emirati and Saudi defense conglomerates and logistics giants (including companies linked to the ruling families) secured billions in arms contracts and gained effective control over Yemen’s southern ports, oil terminals, and Socotra Island, and in the United States military enlistment rates remain far higher among lower-income households.

The working class bears multiple costs: through direct participation in conflict, reductions in social spending (notably, U.S. defense budgets surpass the federal allocations for education, housing, and healthcare combined), and inflationary pressures on wages caused by sanctions and disruptions to supply chains. Consequently, annexationist initiatives tend to reinforce economic dependencies between labor and capital, framed within narratives of national interest.

These obstacles can be addressed by building authentic international solidarity among workers and consistently exposing how the ruling class deliberately promotes nationalist and chauvinist ideologies to divide the global working class and protect their own power. Creating cross-border trade unions and cooperative structures provides the organizational basis for coordinated actions, effective mutual aid networks, and independent communication channels that reveal the shared material interests of wage-workers everywhere. Such structures help make clear that imperialist rivalries, border disputes, and resource wars primarily generate super-profits for monopolies and corporations, rather than serving the true needs of ordinary people.

A clear, materialist education that focuses on common class position rather than artificial national or ethnic differences dismantles nationalist mythology and reorients people toward their real interests, empowering the working class to see themselves as part of a unified global struggle.

Categories: Imperialism, International