We must learn from shifting political trends and forge nationhood

Churchill Saoke - a PhD Student from Jomo Kenyatta University who has won the Mandela - Washington Fellowship for young african leaders 2015.

Recent developments in the global scene such as Britain’s exit from the European Union, the rise of US President Donald Trump and the increasing popularity of extreme nationalists, have raised questions regarding the shifting trends of global politics. This necessitates a discussion on the relationship between domestic politics and international politics. The idea that nationalists are continually realising that with the rise of multi actors in the global scene, the survival of a nation is dependent on strengthening the domestic web.

It is said that international politics begins where domestic politics ends, meaning all politics begin local. Domestic politics is only considered successful when the national fabric is deliberately constructed into a nation; where the imagined character of the nation, the culture, the values, the spirit and the aspirations are instilled in people.