The following report was written by Timofey Bordachev, program director of the Valdai Club; first published in Russian newspaper ‘Vzglyad’ and was translated and edited by the RT team.
There are two major fears for Western European elites when dealing with the new American administration. Surprisingly, the most serious challenge isn’t the potential decision by the Trump administration to pursue a military confrontation with Russia through Ukraine while cutting financial spending. The root of their anxiety lies elsewhere.
It is naïve to believe that the inauguration of a new American president signifies a revolutionary shift in Washington’s domestic or foreign policies. Most of the loudly proclaimed goals will either prove unattainable or be spun as victories despite their failures. Nevertheless, even the stated objectives of President Donald Trump’s team are enough to provoke strong emotions in Western Europe, the region most humiliatingly dependent on America and, at the same time, the most parasitic actor in contemporary global politics.
For decades, ‘the old world’ has been stuck in a state of strategic ambiguity. Its military and political backbone was shattered during the Second World War. First, the crushing victory of Russian arms destroyed the last vestiges of continental militarism. Second, the consistent post-war American policy ensured that Western Europe was systematically stripped of its ability to determine its own place in global affairs. Britain, the only major Western European power that avoided defeat, retained some fighting spirit, but its material resources have long been too limited to act independently, leaving it tethered to American power.
For countries such as Germany and Italy, the process was straightforward: they were defeated and placed under direct external control by the US. In other states, Washington relied on fostering political and economic elites that would serve its interests. Over time, this policy has reached its logical extreme: Western European leaders today are little more than middle managers in America’s system of global influence. There are no genuine statesmen left in power across the region.
In exchange for this subservience, local elites and societies gained privileged access to the benefits of globalization. They acquired everything they needed without significant struggle or competition. This arrangement has created a unique paradox: while America’s global dominance is rooted in strength, Western Europe’s position in the world is defined by its weakness.
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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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