Foreign Policy > Europe

Democratic leaders in the West without sound judgment—vain, short-sighted, and negligent of history—have opened the borders to a civilian invasion by Muslims.

Lars Møller | April 1, 2026

From Wikimedia Commons: The Capitulation of Granada (Francisco Pradilla y Ortiz, 1882)

An ideological fault line in Western Europe is the self-inflicted decline of national identities and cultural cohesion due to decadence and large-scale immigration from Muslim-majority countries. In view of historical precedents and current developments in France, Britain, and Germany, it is fair to blame democratic leaders for a failure of epic proportions. Lacking historical awareness and commitment to Western traditions, they have enabled a demographic and cultural shift that threatens the foundations of Western civilization.

Central to the anti-establishment criticism is a profound sense of betrayal felt by native Western Europeans, who increasingly experience alienation in the lands of their ancestors—a response evoked by policies that promote globalist ideals at the expense of cultural heritage and social stability. 

France’s experience exemplifies this trajectory. The 1962 withdrawal from Algeria marked a pivotal moment. Charles de Gaulle safeguarded metropolitan stability amid threats of military revolt and civil war, strategically ceding the overseas territory while leaving its Judeo-Christian minorities to their fate. Demographic realities had already rendered long-term French control untenable, given the rapid growth of Arab and Berber populations. Post-independence, migration from North Africa intensified, establishing significant Muslim communities in French cities. 

Over decades, successive presidents—from François Mitterrand to Emmanuel Macron—promised decisive action against violence, organized crime, and social unrest in the archipelago of hostile enclaves. Yet effective measures remained elusive, with policies oscillating between rhetorical crackdowns and de facto tolerance. Periodic eruptions of unrest, including the widespread riots in 2005 and 2023 following police incidents, underscore persistent tensions. Critics view these as symptoms of “failed integration,” where parallel societies emerge, challenging republican authority and fostering no-go zones where French law enforcement hesitates to intervene.

This pattern of defeatism frustrates and disillusions native French citizens, particularly those in working-class suburbs or rural areas who feel that their cultural landscape has been irrevocably altered. Streets once resonant with French traditions now echo with foreign languages, customs, and conflicts imported from abroad. Elderly residents recount neighborhoods transformed beyond recognition, where Christian churches stand empty while mosques proliferate, funded by foreign entities. This alienation is........

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