When we are entering Teaching Guide 6 ("The Suicide of Europe") we are facing an unending War in Ukraine. One year has already passed since on Thursday 24 of February 2022 Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion. A year ago everyone thought it was going to be a very short war. A Blitzkrieg. A Walkover. And now we realize that Putin has brought back war to Europe. A complete strange notion for all those born after 1945.
77 years later we realize that what initially looked like a conflict between two states, appears now more like a wider conflict between the West and the East. As the problem for Putin is that Ukraine want to go West. To join the EU and even NATO. And Putin considers Ukraine part of Russia. Why? Because Kiev was the first Russian Capital. It was the head of the “Kievan Rus”, the first East Slavic State.
And Putin wants to get back to the USSR times, under Stalin, when Russia was almighty. But the majority of Ukranians do not feel Russians, they consider themselves Europeans. And this explains the almost unanimous reaction of the European States against Putin’s aggression.
In fact the War is about a model of society and civilization. Between liberal democracies and democratic dictatorships called “democraturs”, like the one that exists in Russia, where Vladimir Putin has been in power since 2000 and since then he has developed an illiberal democracy where power has no limits, information is controlled by the state and dissidents are poisoned, like Alexander Litvinenko, or put in jail like Alexei Navalny, the three young women integrating the Pussy Riot punk-rock group, Vladimir Kara-Murza or Maria Ponomarenko. For denouncing the war. Or the Special operation as Putin named it.
The Pussy Riot, a punk-rock Group imprisoned in 2021
Alexei Navalny, arrested in 2018
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Vladimir Kara-Mourza. After being poisoned twice he is in since 2022 in prison for 20 years
The Journalist Mariya Ponomarenko. Six years of imprisonment for protesting against Ukrainian War
So far Putin had done a great job. After reaching power in 2000 after the disastrous government of Yeltsine, his priority was is to give back the Russians their pride, after one decade of humiliation. Knowing that we Europeans we are mostly concerned about how to keep our comfortable lives, he was sure that he could control us through gas and oil production, and that we could be bought by the new Russian oligarchs, that have already transformed London in Londongrad. This is why he was so confident about Ukraine invasion. He thought we would not give a damn about Ukranians as our priority is to live well.
But surprisingly European Governments reacted sending excellent weapons to Ukraine, spending more money in our armies and adopting economic sanctions against Putin’s regime and his bunch of oligarchs, disregard the fact that they affect severely our economies. How so? Because, simply put, Putin has helped us to realize that our whole liberal democratic way of life is in danger.
And what about Ukranians. In 2014 they had accepted the annexation of Crimea, and were more or less willing to accept that territories were the Russian population is a majority would end up having the same fate. But suddenly they are willing to defend their country to the last soldier. That national narrative that Putin thought was inexistent is jeopardizing a war that he thought was not going to last long because he was convinced that most of Ukrainian population would welcome Russian soldiers as their saviors from a corrupt and “nazi” regime. The problem is that he was misinformed. After 23 years in power Putin only hear what he wants to hear.
Unfortunately for him he has in front the Ukrainian President Volodímir Zelenski a Jew, that studied law, speaks fluent Russian and is a great communicator as he has worked like a comedian from 1997 to 2018, before entering politics and becoming Ukraine’s Prime Minister on the 20 of Mai 2019. Putin did not consider Zelenski as a problem, but the latter, instead of fleeing became the head of the fierce Ukranian resistance, and has become a National hero for more than 90% of Ukrainians. The result of Putin’s invasion is that Ukraine would never be Russian again.
Weren’t we done with war?
Ukrainian war is shocking especially because for 77 years we honestly thought we were done with war. And looking at the horror of the images of this war, suddenly we remember with panic the tragic holocausts of the two World Wars of the first half of the 20th century that destroyed Europe. The Ukraine situation is bringing us back to some of the darkest moments of our history. It is therefore time to reopen our history books and try to understand how was it possible that in thirty years, from 1914 to 1945, the mighty European Nation-States collapsed and disappeared from the World Front Stage?
How could the insignificant States of the 15th century that in four centuries got to control the world, returned to insignificancy in such a short period? This is what we are going to analyze today from a very concrete perspective: the insufficiencies of the Nation-State model.
We will start with the apocalyptic conflict that was World War I. May be to this day the worst war in Human history, mainly because it was the first “total war”, meaning that every nation-state involved dedicated all resources, material and human, to exterminate the adversary. In World War I all Europeans were more than happy to go to a war towards a hatred enemy thinking that it was going to be a very short war in the name of nationalism. But War lasted 4 and half long years, with millions of dead and more of crippled.
A holocaust that was sustained by a deeply rooted xenophobic narrative nationally promoted that led in France, for instance, to the assassination of the Socialist leader Jean Jaurès (1859-31 July 1914) simply because he was a pacifist.
Jaurès was absolutely right, but he could not prevent the disasters that militarism brought to Europe. Because the suicide of the Great War of 1914-1918 led to the abrupt end of Liberalism and the return of authoritarian regimes, starting with Bolshevik Russia, and continuing with Fascist Italy or Nazi Germany. Dreadful dictatorships brought by the aftermaths of the massive and absurd massacre that led the world to war again in 1939, leaving Europe in ruins.
The "Brandenburg Tor" in May 1945
This s why the great Belgian singer Jacques Brel (1929-1978) asked himself in a beautiful and moving song “Why they killed Jaurès” (Pour quoi ont-ils tué Jaurès?), released in 1977, in what was his last album, simply called “BREL”, before dying from cancer a few months later.
Pourquoi ont-ils tué Jaurès?
Ils étaient usés à quinze ans
Ils finissaient en débutant
Les douze mois s'appelaient décembre
Quelle vie ont eu nos grand-parents
Entre l'absinthe et les grand-messes
Ils étaient vieux avant que d'être
Quinze heures par jour le corps en laisse
Laissent au visage un teint de cendres
Oui notre Monsieur, oui notre bon Maître
… Pourquoi ont-ils tué Jaurès?
Pourquoi ont-ils tué Jaurès?
… On ne peut pas dire qu'ils furent esclaves
De là à dire qu'ils ont vécu
Lorsque l'on part aussi vaincu
C'est dur de sortir de l'enclave
Et pourtant l'espoir fleurissait
Dans les rêves qui montaient aux yeux
Des quelques ceux qui refusaient
De ramper jusqu'à la vieillesse
… Oui notre bon Maître, oui notre Monsieur
Pourquoi ont-ils tué Jaurès?
… Pourquoi ont-ils tué Jaurès?
… Si par malheur ils survivaient
C'était pour partir à la guerre
C'était pour finir à la guerre
Aux ordres de quelques sabreurs
Qui exigeaient du bout des lèvres
Qu'ils aillent ouvrir au champ d'horreur
Leurs vingt ans qui n'avaient pu naître
Et ils mouraient à pleine peur
Tout miséreux oui notre bon Maître
Couverts de prêles oui notre Monsieur
… Demandez-vous belle jeunesse
Le temps de l'ombre d'un souvenir
Le temps du souffle d'un soupir
Pourquoi ont-ils tué Jaurès?
Pourquoi ont-ils tué Jaurès?
ENGLISH TRANSLATION of “JAURÈS”
They were worn up at fifteen years old
They were finishing while beginning
The twelve months were named December
What kind of life did our grandparents have?
Between the absinth and the high masses
They were old before being
Fifteen hours a day, the body on a leash
Leaves to the face an ash like complexion
Yes our Sir, yes our kind Master
Why did they kill Jaurès?
Why did they kill Jaurès?
One cannot say they were slaves
But to say that hey have lived
When you start defeated like that
It’s hard to come ou of the enclave
And though hope was flourishing
In the dreams which were going up to the eyes
Of the few who were refusing
To crawl until the old age
Yes our kind Master, yes our Sir
Why did they kill Jaurès?
Why did they kill Jaurès?
If by misfortune they survived
It was to go to war
It was to end at war
Under the orders of some swordsman
Who was demanding half-heartedly
That they go open in the field of horror
Their twenties which didn’t have the chance to be born
And they died in full fear
All miserable, yes our kind Master
Covered with field horsetails, yes our Sir
Ask yourself pretty youth
The time of the shadow of a memory
The time of the blow of a sigh
Why did they kill Jaurès?
Why did they kill Jaurès?
For understanding the horror of World War I, besides the Brel’s song, I give you some recommendations. From the victors side: the Movies “A Very Long Engagement” (Un long dimanche de fiançailles) of Jean Pierre Jeunet, released in 2004 and “Merry Christmas” (Joyeux Noël) of Christian Carion Released in 2005, and based on true events. Also the spectacular movie 1917, a Sam Mendes film released in 2019.
And finally, as I guess you are developing a taste for reading, I would recommend you to read Pierre Lemaitre’s Novel “The Great Swindle” (Au revoir là haut) that enabled the author to receive in 2013 the most prestigious French Litterary price, the “Prix Goncourt.”
From the German perspective I will recommend you the great pacifist novel of Erich von Remarque (1898-1970) All Quiet in the Western Front (1929). You can read it or see one of its movie versions: 1930, 1979 y 2022.
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The suicide of the Great War led to the abrupt end of Liberalism and the return of authoritarian regimes, starting with Bolshevik Russia, and continuing with Fascist Italy or Nazi Germany. Dreadful dictatorships brought by the aftermaths of the massive and absurd massacre that led the world to war again in 1939, leaving Europe in ruins.
As, by the way, it is impossible to understand the Russian Revolution, the Dictatorships of Mussolini and Hitler or the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) if you do not grasp the social consequences of the expansion of big capitalism and the rising of “the Social question”, a large part of the text of Teaching Guide 6 (pages 127-139) is dedicated to this crucial aspect, including the “democratic solution” to the problem unexpectedly invented by US President F.D. Roosevelt and the New Deal.
New Deal would lead to the Welfare State Model, consolidated in the UK in 1942 by William Beveridge.
Something especially important considering the actual resurgence of inequalities worldwide, as a result of the Neoliberal policies started by the Western States in the 1980’s decade. This huge effort to help the poorer classes of our opulent societies has been one of the main causes why we have not had a war in Europe for 77 years.
In our today’s topic for discussion we will analyze if we are assisting today to a resurgence of the fear of War (with Russia, with China) because of the reappearance of the social question as a result of the overwhelming growing of inequalities all over the Planet.
Though the most important idea you have to retain from Teaching Guide 6 is how the Nation-State model brought to the destruction of Europe in only three decades. And how in 1945 when half of Europe was at the mercy of Stalin troops that had occupied Eastern Europe we asked the United States to give us military assistance in case of Russian invasion. And NATO was created the 4 of April 1949.
In a globalized world and a Europe that sticks together because of economic interest many we were wondering if NATO still made any sense. But suddenly since the 24 of February we have realized that it does. In fact Putin has used the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO as a pretext to start his war.
Are we are facing a resurgence of a New Cold war in which Western countries are increasingly facing Russia where Vladimir Putin is considering a rebuilt of the Soviet Union dissolved by the Belavezha Accords on the 8 December 1991, the moment in which Ukraine became an independent State?
Are we going towards World War Three? Of course that would depend a lot on the attitude of China. So far Putin has tried to get President Xi Jiping on his side. But as the Putin’s Blitzkrieg did not work, China is extremely cautious, as he is aware that the conflict would create a major economic crisis that would bring huge instability to his dictatorial regime. Remember that so far Chinese society has accepted dictatorship because it has brought great prosperity. An economical crisis would bring social unrest and would jeopardize the political regime. This is why China is trying very badly to find a way to end this war. Wait and see.
For 77 years pacifism has been the rule in Europe. But now there is growing fear that war is going to be again on our tables. Because everybody is afraid of war with the exception of ex colonel of the KGB Vladimir Putin, that spend 20% of the budget of the Russian economy in weapons. Bear in mind that for one of the largest countries in the World with 146 million inhabitants, Russian economy is smaller than German Economy (4.036 billions v. 4.597 billions) with only 80 million. But after Ukraine’s Invasion Europeans think that everything has to be done to prevent Putin of imposing his iron fist in the Old Continent. Getting back to the old proverb: Si vis pacem para bellum?
INSTRUCTIONS: First read the text included in your Materials (pages 124 to 161), before proceeding to answer the Concrete Questions, the Concepts and the General Questions.
Concerning the Basic Chronology (pages 158-159) all 21 dates included are crucial.
TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION IN CLASS: Are we in the eve of Third World War?
Please consider the following aspects:
1. Think about what were the causes of the Two European World Wars of the first half of the 20th century.
2. Is Putin imitating the Lebensraum policy of Hitler? Think of the parallelisms of the Austrian Anschluss, The Sudeten Crisis and the Munich Conference of 1938 with the actual policy of Putin in Belarus, Crimea, Donbass and Lugansk and what has been so far the attitude of Western Democracies.
3. Is it possible to rebuild a Soviet Union in the 21st century? Give arguments in both directions.
4. Are economic interests in a globalized world so determinant that would make unthinkable a Major War at the World level?
5. Think about the history of NATO and how it has been expanding since 1991.
6. Review the Cuban Missiles Crisis of 1962 and see if you could establish a parallelism with the Eastern expansion of NATO since 1991.
7. Think about China’s role in this crisis.
8. Think about the attitude of the US in this crisis. Do you think the approach to the Venezuelan dictatorship of Maduro by the Biden’s Administration makes sense? Is it bearable for Democrats?
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