Albanian Nationalism Humiliated in the Political Courtyard
Why is it time for a new nationalist representative from the diaspora?
Written by Flamur Buçpapaj
If true nationalists remain silent, the political game will go on without them – and at their expense. Those who today speak in the name of the right wing, but have nothing to do with its essence, will continue to overturn every national value, building façades that are sold as “opposition” but are, in fact, an organic part of the problem.
Therefore, the time is now – not tomorrow. We can no longer wait to be represented by those who have betrayed us. Albania needs new voices, a new kind of representation, a new kind of trust.
Nationalism Humiliated in the Political Courtyard
Albanian nationalism – that deep, often indescribable feeling that arises from historical consciousness, from the pain and sacrifice of generations, and from the aspiration for a sovereign, united, and dignified Albania – has been transformed into an object of electoral and moral misuse. Instead of being honored as a compass of state-building Contemporary Albanian Nationalism and the Need for a Renaissance from the Diaspora
Albanian Nationalism in an Identity Crisis
After three exhausting and deformative decades of transition, Albanian nationalism has become a misunderstood, misused, and marginalized concept. From being a deep moral and historical value aimed at preserving the territorial, linguistic, cultural, and spiritual integrity of the nation, it has degraded into an empty label used to gain votes or legitimize the hollow rhetoric of political parties.
Today, nationalism is neither represented with dignity in politics, nor does it have a serious ideological platform, nor is it integrated into state policy as a compass for decision-making. Albanian politicians who often speak of a “Greater Albania” or “the nation” have taken no concrete steps toward meaningful pan-Albanian cooperation in culture, education, the economy, or diplomacy. Essentially, we are witnessing a nationalism that has become a “smoke screen” used to conceal clientelist interests and a lack of national vision.
Why the Time Has Come for a New Nationalist Representative from the Diaspora
In this vacuum of representation and deep crisis of trust, the hope for a national renaissance can only come from outside the system — from a new nationalist figure, untainted by corruption, with Western education and deep Albanian roots — ideally from the diaspora, and more specifically from America.
Albanians in the U.S. have traditionally been more connected to the national ideal than to narrow day-to-day interests. They have seen a functioning state, accountable democracy, the power of the rule of law, and the importance of institutions. They are not infected by the servility of Albania’s post-communist transition and possess a purer sense of patriotism.
A nationalist representative from the diaspora would bring:
A long-term national vision based on Western experience, not on the daily struggle for power;
Political morality, which has disappeared from Albanian politics;
International credibility, especially in relation to the U.S. and the EU;
The capacity to unite Albanians wherever they are, beyond political and artificial borders.
Why This Is a Matter of Urgency, Not Just an Option
Albania today stands at an existential crossroads: it will either continue to flounder in institutional chaos and party-driven oligarchy that generates emigration, polarization, and moral capitulation — or it will open a new chapter through a new model of national leadership.
This model cannot emerge from within the system — because the system has consumed itself — but from a new generation of independent nationalists, who owe allegiance to no one but Albania and the national interest.
The arrival of a nationalist representative from the diaspora is no longer just a wish or an alternative — it is a historical necessity. If it doesn’t happen today, it will happen tomorrow, because history has shown that when the domestic elite fails, salvation comes from outside: from free, untainted, and prepared minds.
Time for a New National Contract
Albania stands today at a historical turning point. On one side lies the possible light of European integration, with all the hope and responsibility it entails. On the other, a deep internal darkness: political fragmentation, institutional division, extreme polarization, and an alarming lack of public trust in elites and decision-making processes. This dramatic contrast threatens not only to sabotage the path toward the European Union but also to further divide the nation and unravel the very idea of the Albanian state.
In this tense reality, national dialogue and reconciliation are no longer a noble option — they are a survival imperative. Our history is filled with losses due to division. The future can be different only if political parties, civil society, the diaspora, and all layers of the nation agree to establish a new national pact, where Albania’s interest is placed above every short-term party or clan interest.
This new pact must stand on four pillars:politics, it has become a false ornament in the empty speeches of leaders who have no connection to national sacrifice or to the roots of the nation.
Politicians with questionable biographies regarding their stance on the nation and identity now use the flag, the names of great historical figures, even religious and blood symbols, merely to create artificial emotion, buy time, and mobilize a tired and disillusioned electorate.
A Nationalism Reduced to Empty Rhetoric
Instead of nationalism being translated into public policies that protect national interest, support the diaspora, defend territory, and preserve language and identity, it has been reduced to slogans. Nationalism is used only for photo-ops in front of the flag on national holidays or to throw accusations at political opponents as “anti-Albanian” – while in reality, the very nationalistic rhetoricians may be the biggest beneficiaries of a system that has harmed the country’s future.
This is the greatest political betrayal of Albanian nationalism: not just its denial, but its commercialization – a degradation that has stripped it of power and credibility in the eyes of the public, especially the youth.
The Disappointment of True Nationalists
Those who feel Albania not as an ideology but as blood, as family identity, as a code of honor, as a daily belief – have been reduced to painful spectators of a politics that does not represent them. Families with a history of resistance against occupiers, political prisoners, former landowners oppressed by the dictatorship, a diaspora that has fanatically preserved language and traditions – all of them are outside the scheme of representation.
Instead of being an elite of thought and leadership, they have been excluded as useless. Instead of being heard as the voice of national conscience, they have been silenced by an establishment that fears memory and dignity.
Time for a Revival
In this dangerous political climate, where everything seems manipulated and commanded by narrow interests, it is urgent to revive a new nationalism – independent, pure, and based on principles rather than speeches. It does not need hatred, nor provincialism – but a national vision for the 21st century, for an Albania that knows what it wants from European integration, from its neighbors, from history, and from itself.
This can only happen if true nationalists – not fabricated political actors – break the silence, organize, and create a new form of representation: a political or civic platform that revives values, promotes meritocracy, demands rule of law, honors sacrifice, and preserves national identity without complexes or dangerous alliances.
If nationalism is not regenerated in a pure and organized way, it will continue to be used as a mask. And every mask, in politics, eventually shatters – with tragic consequences for the country.
The genuine inclusion of the opposition and the entire social spectrum in the integration process and strategic decision-making.
The decriminalization and depoliticization of the state, through a clear separation of institutions from the control of political parties.
The restoration of nationalism as a constructive value, not as empty rhetoric or an instrument of electoral manipulation.
In this process, a special role must be played by the Albanian diaspora, especially intellectuals and leaders shaped in Western democratic systems. The arrival of a genuine nationalist representative from the diaspora – free from the burdens of the past and capable of building nationwide trust – would be more than a symbolic act. It would be an injection of vision and morality into a political body exhausted by corruption and capture.
The path of reconciliation is not an easy one. It demands self-restraint, maturity, and above all, love for the homeland. But it is the only path that can save Albania from collision, isolation, and moral disintegration. Because no government can protect the country with police and soldiers if the people do not love it.
And the new Albanian nationalism, far from extremism and hatred, can become the vehicle for the political and spiritual rebirth of the nation. A nationalism that does not seek power for itself, but a state for all Albanians – in the north and the south, inside and outside the borders – with a new spirit that views the past with dignity and the future with responsibility.
Albania still has time. But not indefinitely.
