Israel's attack on Unifildeclaration of war on the world order
The SPIEGEL editorial by Christoph Reuter
The attacks on the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon are no accident. Israel is not only fighting its enemies, but also the international legal order.
October 14, 2024, 9:32 am
Vladimir Tikhonov
8 hours ago
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Der Spiegel could not put it in a more succinct and clearer way. Indeed, by its refusal to comply with UN rules and by its assault against UN peacekeepers Israel broke away from any conceivable "rule-based order".
So, it is going to be America's conundrum now. If they continue to back Israeli wars, with all the accompanying genocides, massacres and lawlessness, they lose whatever hegemonic legitimacy they still possess - even among Europeans (in the Middle East, they already have little authority to lose...). If they back away and refuse to support more of Netanyahu's reckless misadventures, they get domestic political troubles and may lose credibility in the eyes of other client states inside the Pax Americana boundaries. Whichever way they go, further decline of Pax Americana is expected.
Hans Rauscher
declaration of war on the liberal world order
Russia and China want to change the balance of power
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Hans Rauscher
March 12, 2022, 12:00
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More than 30 years ago, one could say: the communist "Eastern Bloc" has collapsed, the threat is gone, the peoples of Eastern Europe can free themselves from oppression and backwardness. According to the unanimous opinion of leading politicians and experts, that is over. Vladimir Putin not only wants to subjugate Ukraine in a Greater Russian frenzy, but he has also declared war on the liberal world order.
He considers the democratic, culturally open "West" to be the enemy par excellence. It has constantly prevented holy Russia from developing (in reality, this development has failed because of its own unfree social system, whether communist or nationalist). Putin believes that the time of the liberal West is over and that the world now belongs to authoritarian rulers. The unpleasant thing is that the Chinese leader Xi Jinping believes this too and is also working on implementing it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.Photo: imago images/SNAThe two humiliated and insulted countries have now announced that they will unite against the dominance of the West. In the joint statement by Putin and Xi at the meeting in Beijing on February 4, it says: "A trend towards a redistribution of power in the world is emerging." How this can be implemented is not yet clear. China has not condemned the war in Ukraine, but has not really supported it either. In an emergency, the Chinese see Putin as a junior partner at most. The Chinese see that the Western sanctions are really damaging Russia. However, the West is at least as dependent on Chinese production as it is on Russian energy. And Xi Jinping wants to bring Taiwan back into the empire during his term in office.
freedom and prosperity
Timothy Garton Ash, the eminent British historian and expert on Eastern Europe, can only think of Winston Churchill's famous dictum from the darkest days of the Second World War: "Blood, sweat and tears" await Europe, the West . What this means in practice is clear: more weapons for Ukraine, "we will defend every inch of NATO territory" (Joe Biden), sanctions that "could cut off Russia's path to a future of prosperity", weaning off Russian gas and oil, but also Chinese production, a confrontation with China over Taiwan.
Almost too much to believe that a "weak, divided, decadent" West could handle it. Although it is not yet certain whether voters will go along with it, especially if all this triggers a global recession. On the other hand: Who wants to live like in Russia, where a truly ultra-reactionary Orthodox Church has great social influence? In Russia, which ranks 58th in terms of GDP per capita (adjusted for purchasing power) (2019 statistics, much worse due to sanctions)? And who wants to live in a digital surveillance dictatorship like China?
The West has to defend not only its social freedom but also its prosperity. Its unity so far is remarkable. "Although it is not easy to see how Putin can achieve his larger goal of a Greater Russia, we nevertheless face a long and daunting road" (Francis Fukuyama). But there will probably be no other choice if we do not want to be the vassals of the Chinese vassal Russia. (Hans Rauscher, March 12, 2022)
Read more:What did China know about Russia's invasion plans?
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