A Clash of Civilizations between Russian Nationalism and American Globalism
Photo: Pre-September 2022 Map of territorial gains by Russia and resistance by Ukraine. (qtd. in Hoffman).
Preview of Full Audio.
The Clash of Civilizations today is more apparent than ever, as Russia competes to preserve their civilization, against an existential threat to their national interests, and cultural values against some of the deconstructive aspects of modern liberalism, namely anti-nationalism and secularism promoted by American, European, and the Western aligned countries. To make this point about nationalism and the cultural identity of Russia, an essay published in the International Journal describes that:
Russia has grown closer to the earlier roots of their heritage, in recent years and “Putin and Russians themselves, may have” ascribed to a belief in a “ideational narrative”, imbued in “Russian culture and history” which has become the core of Russia’s national interests, which are being threatened by the West. “The more threatened Russia feels by Western dominance, the greater the rationale for providing an alternative” (Roberts).
For further emphasis, Political Science Professor Dr. Igor Panarin writes that President Vladimir Putin in a 2012 re-election campaign town hall meeting said:
“‘The world has entered a systemic crisis, a turbulence zone and a period of profound transformation on the way to the Sixth (ethical, intellectual and creative) Wave. Only by playing an active role in developing the principles of a new world order will Russia secure a decent place in the world appropriate for Russian civilization, considering its huge educational potential. And this requires public accord, which is impossible without dialogue. Only then will Russia be able to preserve and further develop its moral and cultural values and become a moral core and the center of gravity for the cultures of the West and the East, the North and the South’. This is precisely what Putin’s New Ideology is about. This is why he invites the nation to discuss our national priorities”.
Full Audio.
I think we can agree that the United States has moved in the opposite direction of the preservation of Western European identity, particularly Anglo-Saxon culture, with an erasure and revision of its true heritage. Putin and Russia are up against a regime in the United States that represents the same identity replacement threat and it is reflected in many ways. In similar ways such as how we see the populism of Trump, MAGA Republicans, and dissident right causes being persecuted. Then we see the acceleration of LGBTQ normalization in society, the sexualization of children, anti-white racism, anti-conservatism and carbon reduction schemes and taxes. These are the ideas that the U.S. wants to spread around the world. The neoliberal politicians with their corruption, together with our government institutions that refused to crack down on the leftist riots from 2016-2020 and the crime all across the United States have destroyed tradition in America and most European countries have followed the way. All of these lawless and ungodly acts has had real consequences which has weakened our Western governments. They sow the seeds of dysfunctionality illegitimacy and collapse of communities, their cultural identity and economic purchasing power.
Russia and BRICS can do something it though. Putin views national security in two ways. First, from a territorial and pure geopolitical balance of power approach. Second, as a moral crusade against the West that Russia must win. Putin uses BRICS, to deter the West through international relations, multi-lateral alliances, for economic trade and to prevent a larger conventional war that can lead to the use of nuclear weapons which are at Russia’s ready for use without hesitation to protect their sovereignty.
As the war in Ukraine with Russia ravages on, VOA News reported that the predominantly Russian speaking Donbas region has been mired in ethnic fighting by “Pro-Russian separatists” that declared independence from Ukraine in 2014. The ethnic Russians migrated to the region after World War II (What). One of Huntington’s main point’s is that there will be a new pattern of conflict to come among civilizations. The line is clearly drawn here along ethnic lines with different languages and cultures, where most people in the Donbas identify with Russian heritage. Ukraine has been supported by the West throughout this time. And NATO has sought to support Ukraine under the name of democracy yet appears to have more in common with playing the balance of power game, which has created a security dilemma for the West.
Photo: As of March 13, 2023, war territory situation in Ukraine (qtd. in Bailey et al.).
As Russia aligns with its allies in a defensive posture against the West, we can see the distinctness between the two counterparts. As Samuel P. Huntington described best about the engenderment of culture clashes is that the most important differences would ultimately be the quintessential “history, language, culture, tradition and, … religion (6). With Russia’s more centralized power around the President, which I call a Zsar Republic; a Orthodox Christian population and a nationalistic tradition, the fault lines with Western civilization under modern liberalism that upholds secularism and espouses anti-nationalism, provides a foundation for conflict between the nation states.
We can see the consciousness of civilization rising as Russia and people with a common culture resist against the aggression of Western liberalism and the anti-nationalism and secularism that further separates Russia and the Globalists.
The United States and the EU would be well served to actually ne a close ally with Russia, rather than continue to engage in this ideational clash of civilizations, that divides Russia from the West, because of the ideology of neoliberalism and neoconservativism. Russia is more aligned culturally with the true heritage of Europe and the United States. An alliance would establish a balance of power against China over time, as U.S., European and Russian relations take on the challenge to phase in an entente. The people of Russia will then begin to improve their economic state, in a measured way.
Photo: Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands before attending a joint press conference in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images, as featured and qtd. in Insider.
To stop the war in Ukraine, we can look to as a model the Minsk Agreement of September 1, 2014, that was signed by officials from Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Which also recognized the right to a federal system of autonomy through democratic means for people in the disputed territories (Protocol). Russia, Ukraine and greater Europe led by the US can become party this new agreement. But a federal system will not be part of the deal in its entirety anymore to put it lightly. Douglas MacGregor, senior fellow of the American Conservative noted: “Who rules in Kiev and governs Ukraine is as important to Moscow as events in Mexico are to Washington. The U.S. can appreciate that under the Monroe Doctrine we protect our national interests in the northern hemisphere first and foremost as we did in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Russia is doing the same in their own region. Points to add to a new peace agreement with Russia will be recognizing the reality that the now annexed former Ukrainian territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will remain under Russia control to protect Russia’s borders and protects the ethnic speaking Russians of the former Ukraine. President Trump already knows this and the globalist media still censors us (Fox Cuts). Allow free migration for Ukrainians to choose which side they will live under. An America First Government will be the time and place for this new long term relationship. That looks like a good solid handshake between Trump and Putin to me. Let’s hope Putin is expecting President Trump to come back in 2024 as we are, to create peace and better management for the world, or Putin may be the last free head of state left in the world to stop the globalists.
You can read the Russia offensive assessment dated March 13, 2023, from the Institute for the Study of War and search other articles below. I will be posting more in the future to expand on our knowledge of assessing international relations from some of the thinkers of the past and of our current day, that have stood up to the test of time such as Samuel P. Huntington.
Works Cited
Bailey, Riley et al. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, Institute for the Study of War, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-13-2023
Huntington, P. Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations?”. Foreign Affairs. Summer 1993, pp. 3-27, www.jstor.org/stable/20045621
Hoffman, Frank. “Defining and Achieving Success in Ukraine”. National Defense University Press, Prism, Vol. 10, No. 1, 30 Sep. 2022. pp. 98, 99, https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3175459/defining-and-achieving-success-in-ukraine/
Macgregor, Douglas. “The Ukraine Crisis Can Be an Opportunity”. The American Conservative, 26 Apr. 2021, www.theamericanconservative.com/the-ukraine-crisis-can-be-an-opportunity/
Panarin, Igor. “Putin’s new ideology: Developing Russian Civilization”, RT, 17 Jan 2012, https://www.rt.com/russia/putin-election-president-panarin-955/
Porter, Tom. “Fox Cuts Trump Saying He May let Russia take over areas of Ukraine as part of Peace Deal”, Insider, 8 Mar. 2023, www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-cuts-trump-let-russia-have-bits-of-ukraine-2023-3
“Protocol on the Results of Consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group (Minsk, 05/09/2014)”. Mission of Ukraine to the European Union, 08 Sep. 2014, ukraine-eu.mfa.gov.ua/en/news/27596-protocolon-the-results-of-consultations-of-the-trilateral-contact-group-minsk-05092014
Roberts, Kari. “Understanding Putin: The Politics of Identity and Geopolitics in Russian Foreign Policy Discourse.” International Journal, vol. 72, no. 1, 2017, pp. 28–55. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26414074. p. 34, Accessed 15 Oct. 2022.
“What to Know About the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions”. VOA News. 21 Feb. 2022, https://www.voanews.com/a/what-to-know-about-the-donetsk-and-luhansk-regions-/6452835.html Accessed 4 Sep. 2022.