A World of Difference

“What the Western World lacks, our adversaries have in abundance — a clear ideology.”

Regardless of the fact that America’s adversaries are universally autocratic, all are unified in one important aspect, their opposition to what they perceive as US hegemony; not because of our ethical composure per se, but because the US still remains the only nation in the world that can unilaterally frustrate their ambitions. In spite of of the fact, America has become afflicted by what British historian Niall Ferguson referred to as our “weak-willed aspirations;” constantly vacillating between two perspectives, neoliberalism and conservatism, while juggling two identities, leader of the Free World or willing victim of its own invention, Western Capitalism.

In spite of the fact, when it comes down to real politiks, as retired US Army General Wesley Clark noted, – “Without a national defense strategy there there can be no way forward, and although we have a condominium of interests, we still fall short on ideology.” And, as socially subdivided as America has become, it will only be a matter of time before our enemies make fish-bait out of a population that has forgotten how to swim. Yet were not alone in that as many of our European allies are facing the same problem, the fracturing of the public space over vastly different ideologies, some of which are being exacerbated by our foreign adversaries. In truth, that’s one of the primary reasons why the U.S. appears to wax incoherent when it comes to articulating a unified defense posture, much less a clear rationale for its geopolitical gymnastics. As a result, the problem has now become a question of trust when it comes to American leadership, as we seem to have lost sight of a unified vision, one that the Almighty himself would endorse. And although the question of trust is very much relevant when it comes to diplomacy, it seems that it’s a topic that takes a back seat when it comes to the Rules-based Order, because the West, as the primary architect and enforcer of that order, takes liberties with that order whenever it suits its interests. Unfortunately, while the lingering influence of The Enlightenment and the hard-won lessons of history have sufficed up to this point to maintain a certain stasis, at least in the West, the question remains. Have the generational inheritors of that period of peace and prosperity now become so abstractly delusional in their thinking that they are in fact “…seeing the world as we imagined it to be, and not as it is?” (Ferguson)

Consequently, one of the biggest challenges we face in the West today is the collective instability of our democracies, each laboring under its own illusions, while competing with one another rather than cooperating for the good of the whole. As a result, many of those same nations have also fallen victim to “false narratives” populated through the digital information space. As a result, we now see the reemergence of secular nationalism within Europe, and even Germany of all places. The most recent evidence being that of the emergence of the German Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) Party, which just secured its first political victory since World War ll. In short, in order to mitigate this tendency among our allies, it’s on the U.S. to in turn demonstrate the preferable option of a liberal democracy; not just by having a clear, predictable and principled political ideology, but the cache and military capability to defend those very principles whenever challenged.

It follows then that any prospect of an Ukrainian NATO membership would not only remain dependent on a certain democratic standard when it comes to Ukraine, but from NATO members themselves in subordinating their several interests to that of the collective when it comes to democracy and defense. Yet, the stark reality is that the EU.’s often paralyzing lack of will when it comes to coherence and coordination does have historical parallels which are inherently dangerous and destabilizing, as the Prussian military strategist Carl Von Clausewitz, observed: “An absence of will to react can be seen as a weakness by a nation’s adversaries.” An opinion seconded by Oleksandar Lytvyenko (Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council), who warned recently that “What started out as a local conflict in Ukraine, has now become a war with global implications.”

To be clear, although its been over eighty years since the end of WW ll, the EU. is still diddling around when it comes to defense appropriation, even as the table is being set for the main-course – conflict on the European continent. Say what you will, but President Trump, in calling the E.U. out for their reticence when it comes to defense spending, has in fact had a positive effect, particularly among the Baltic and Nordic nations. Yet, the creep of social liberalism in Europe may still be its ultimate undoing, as the-rot-at-the-top is now clearly plain to see. Put simply, the government’s pet interests have become its primary interest – “And these dogs are greedy, never having enough. Shepard’s they may seem, but only to their own advantage. Architects for gain, they lean on their own understanding, at the expense of knowledge, leading many astray” (Isaiah 56:10,11)