The West's Cold War Victory 20 Years On
29 December 2011
The demise
of the Soviet Union 20 years ago is usually seen as an event that
profoundly changed the fate of the people who lived within
the historical Russian Empire — from Estonia to Armenia to Turkmenistan.
And, of course, it is a turning point in Russia's own history.
The implications of the end of the Soviet Union, however, are far less
often seen from a global perspective. Much of that is history, such as
the end of Soviet meddling in the Horn of Africa or in Central America.
Much is taken for granted and considered natural, such as the unity
of Berlin, Germany and Western and Central Europe. There are things,
however, that are less obvious and more relevant to this day.
The abrupt withdrawal of the Soviet challenge to the
Western world has not only allowed the tearing down of the hideous
barriers that divided the European continent. It also presented
the leaders of the then-Free World with a new challenge: leading
an effort to create a Europe whole and free. Twenty years on, this
business is only half-finished, with Europe as a whole enjoying only
wary peace and having to put up with imperfect security. Those who pride
themselves in winning the Cold War have done only a mediocre job
organizing the peace that followed.
The removal of the U.S.-Soviet rivalry in the Middle
East initially offered a prospect for a peace settlement between Israel
and the Palestinians. This prospect, however, has proved elusive. Having
come within inches of a solution that would have created a recognized
Palestinian state and provided secure borders to Israel, the two sides
have recoiled, and the mediators lost their drive. The U.S. forcible
insertion into the region during the Gulf War in 1990-91 to liberate
Kuwait — which was dramatically enhanced in the wake of 9/11 with
the invasion and occupation of Iraq — made the Middle East more divided
and more perilous.
The defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan became
a cause for celebration in the West and the Muslim world alike, but
the forces that were unleashed by the anti-Soviet resistance were never
properly understood, much less harnessed. Moreover, the operation
of Western forces in Afghanistan, coming a dozen years after the Soviet
withdrawal from the country, met with some of the same problems that
bedeviled Moscow. The forthcoming departure of U.S. and allied troops
from Afghanistan is threatening to create a major security problem
for Central and South Asia.
The real issue is that the end of the Soviet Union
and Soviet communism meant an end of hard peer-to-peer competition —
in both geopolitics and ideology. Unconstrained power tends to corrupt
those who wield it, while unopposed orthodoxy breeds narrow-mindedness
and complacency. Those whose job is to lead and strategize follow
the daily polls. The elites, who in the past used to rule, have
concentrated on money-making. Those who make serious money have less
time than ever for ethics. Those leaders, analysts and commentators who
shape global opinions are often guided by the rules of political
correctness.
To mourn the passing of the Soviet Union and its
ideology is not the point. U.S. and European leaders should detect
the faint scent of their own brand of Brezhnevism around their polities
and amend their policies accordingly. For example, the United States is
dangerously overextended abroad, and its political system at home has
become too dysfunctional. Meanwhile, the European Union is in danger
of losing the European project unless it rediscovers leadership
and provides it with new legitimacy.
Cracking down on democracy and human rights in the
name of efficiency is not the way. Authoritarianism is being challenged
in Russia and will not survive forever in China either. Democracy needs
a new model that is more applicable to the 21st century — and, above
all, in the countries that gave birth to its 19th- and 20th-century
versions. Democracies everywhere need to gain a global perspective.
Those who claim leadership in the world need to gain a better
understanding of it and become more global-friendly.
Citizenship, in the sense of civic duty
and responsibility, needs to be fostered and promoted as the central
pillar of politics, as well as in society at large. Protecting workers'
outdated social benefits and the elite's excessive, newly acquired
material gains must be held in check. In addition, leadership needs
to acquire a broader and more secure base — for example, those who
benefited from globalization and are looking for ways to spread those
benefits even wider. Otherwise, past victories — like the one over
communism 20 years ago — may pave the way to a defeat 20 years from now.
Dmitry Trenin is director of the Carnegie Moscow Center.
Read more:http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/the-wests-cold-war-victory-20-years-on/450656.html#ixzz1iJsFEGtA
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