The Need for Nations
Roger Scruton
Civitas: Institute for the Study of Civil Society, London, UK
Originally published in 2004; Commemorative Edition reprinted in 2020, ISBN-10: 1-903386-33-0

Roger Scruton’s The Need for Nations is a defence of the nation-state as the fundamental political unit necessary for democracy, freedom, and civil peace. Originally published in 2004 and reprinted in 2020 to mark Scruton’s death, this work is a direct response to the globalist ideologies that aim to dissolve national sovereignty in favour of transnational governance, particularly through the European Union, the United Nations, and multinational corporations.

Scruton argues that the nation-state is the only proven framework for stable democratic governance, and he dismantles the naive utopianism of those who believe supranational bodies can replace it. His argument is clear: nations are not just practical political entities; they are the natural result of human association, history, and culture. Without them, we face either totalitarian control or anarchic collapse.

For those of us watching the slow erosion of national identity and sovereignty—both in Britain and across Europe—Scruton’s argument is a bracing corrective. He provides a philosophical, historical, and moral justification for national loyalty, while condemning the ideology of oikophobia—the educated elite’s hatred of their own national traditions, which has led them to undermine their own societies from within.

This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why the nation-state is under attack, why it matters, and how it can be defended.

Scruton begins with a simple yet profound observation:

Democracies owe their existence to national loyalties—the loyalties that are supposedly shared by government and opposition, by all political parties, and by the electorate as a whole (p. 1).

Without national loyalty, Scruton argues, democracy becomes impossible. In a society where people no longer feel part of a common national identity, political opposition becomes an existential threat rather than a normal part of governance. This, he explains, is why democracy has failed to take root in places without strong national traditions.

He demolishes the leftist fantasy that global institutions can replace the nation-state, pointing out that even international bodies like the EU, UN, and WTO ultimately rely on strong nation-states to function:

Global or regional institutions and organisations, such as the UN, the EU, the WTO or multinational corporations are not alternatives to the nation-state. Indeed, the very existence of such entities presupposes a network of strong nation states to underpin them (p. 7).

Globalists imagine a world without nations as a world of peace and cooperation, but in reality, the weakening of nations leads not to global harmony, but to global anarchy.

Scruton is careful to distinguish patriotism from nationalism. He refuses to accept the leftist claim that all national loyalty leads to war and oppression. Instead, he argues that proper national loyalty is peaceful, democratic, and inclusive, while nationalism is a pathological distortion of this natural sentiment.

He writes:

Nationalism is part of the pathology of national loyalty, not its normal condition (p. 15).

Whereas nationalism seeks to dominate and exclude, true patriotism is a love of one’s country, its customs, and its people—a love that does not require hostility toward others. He gives the example of Britain’s role in World War II, where national loyalty saved the country from Nazi aggression without descending into nationalism.

Scruton’s point is particularly relevant today, when leftist ideologues deliberately conflate patriotism with racism in order to undermine national identity. His response to this is straightforward:

Who in Europe has felt comparably threatened by the Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Czech or Polish forms of national loyalty, and who would begrudge those people their right to a territory, a jurisdiction and a sovereignty of their own? (p. 16).

This truth exposes the dishonesty of globalist rhetoric, which treats only Western nationalism as dangerous while ignoring aggressive nationalist movements elsewhere.

One of Scruton’s most powerful arguments is his critique of the European Union and other supranational bodies, which seek to strip nations of their sovereignty under the pretext of “cooperation”. He warns:

Over the past 30 years the range of issues over which national governments have jurisdiction has been getting steadily narrower, and in many important areas virtually nothing of substance can now be decided at the national level (p. 8).

He cites Immanuel Kant’s warning that:

Laws progressively lose their impact as the government increases its range, and a soulless despotism, after crushing the germs of goodness, will finally lapse into anarchy (p. 8).

This is what we see in modern Europe. As power is centralised in Brussels, ordinary people lose faith in democracy because they realise they have no meaningful control over their own laws. Scruton highlights the growing alienation and resentment caused by this process, predicting that it will lead to increasing defiance of EU laws and, eventually, a collapse of the system.

One of the most important insights in The Need for Nations is Scruton’s analysis of the ruling class and its hostility to national identity. He identifies oikophobia, or the educated elite’s hatred of their own country, as the most dangerous internal threat to Western societies.

He writes:

“No adequate word exists for this attitude… Being the opposite of xenophobia, I propose to call this state of mind ‘oikophobia’—the repudiation of inheritance and home (p. 33).

Oikophobia, he explains, is why the British elite derides English history, traditions, and customs, portraying them as oppressive or outdated. It is why school curriculums teach children to be ashamed of their country rather than proud of it. It is why the BBC and other media outlets constantly promote narratives of national guilt while ignoring Britain’s achievements.

Most alarmingly, oikophobia has been institutionalised. National pride is demonised as racism, while mass immigration, multiculturalism, and European integration are celebrated as moral necessities. This, Scruton warns, is leading to the deliberate erosion of national identity.

Scruton ends with a defiant defence of the nation-state as the only proven system capable of sustaining democracy, law, and freedom. He warns against the naive utopianism of transnational governance and the self-destructive tendencies of oikophobic elites.

His conclusion is simple:

The nation-state is not merely a political arrangement. It is a home, a place where people can say ‘we’ and know whom they mean by it (p. 3).

This is a powerful and necessary book. Scruton provides an intellectual and moral case for national loyalty, while exposing the dangers of globalism and elite self-hatred. For anyone who believes that Western civilisation is worth preserving, The Need for Nations is essential reading.