What does "sovereignism" mean?

A doctrine which supports acquiring or preserving the political independence of a nation, region or group, from external or higher-level entities (e.g. federalism or supranational unions like the UN) or from internal (e.g. ethnic or sexual minority) groups it considers subversive.

Sovereignism

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A doctrine which supports acquiring or preserving the political independence of a nation, region or group, from external or higher-level entities (e.g. federalism or supranational unions like the UN) or from internal (e.g. ethnic or sexual minority) groups it considers subversive. uncountable
2
The defence of the sovereignty of individual European countries in the face of broader European or European Union integration. uncountable

Example

More examples

"Algerian colonialism and its relays speak of "Kabyle separatism" when in reality it is only sovereignism. That said, recovering one's freedom is one of the fundamental rights. Obviously colonial Algeria ratified the human rights charter but never respected it."

Etymology

From sovereign + -ism.

Related phrases

european union

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.