Nostalgia Dies Last

Before the pandemic, nostalgia was a major force in global politics. Donald Trump rose to power by promising to “make America great again,” and Brexiteers won their political battle partly by idealizing Britain’s imperial past.

While Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a “great rejuvenation of the Chinese people,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pursued neo-Ottoman ambitions, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lamented the Kingdom of Hungary’s territorial losses after World War I.