California Italian Studies

"Sovranismo" has become the “go-to” word to use in contrasting those advocating “take back control” and nationalism against the “globalists” who are the bête noire of populism. This paper discusses the recent provenance of the word and the impluses that underlie it. It then considers the various arguments for sovranismo more broadly. The final section discusses the actual history of state sovereignty and suggests that current usage lacks much understanding of its complexities.