Sovereignty is now at the centre of political debate in Europe with the rise of parties such as Italy’s Lega and France’s Rassemblement National that define themselves as ‘sovereignist’ – apparently a new way of saying ‘nationalist’ without awakening the ghosts of the past.
Political leaders around the world want to gain – or regain – ‘sovereignty’ over some public good or choice, such as borders or monetary policy. In Britain, this tendency was expressed by the Brexit referendum slogan ‘Take back control’.
So, after years of increasing globalization, in which nation states surrendered sovereignty to a supra-national organization such as the European Union or to multinational companies, citizens are discovering the need to regain control of public choices.
