War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.
This dystopian political mantra from the famous literary masterpiece George Orwell’s ‘1984’ has suddenly resonated on a new and worrying level in today’s geopolitical climate.
Since Ukraine’s territorial integrity was first challenged back in 2014, the Western world has occupied an important space in the global democratic conversation, reiterating the rights of sovereignty first and foremost. The war which broke out in 2022 as Russia invaded Ukraine turned the tried and tested formula of post-Second World War diplomacy on its head. No longer could a leader from America, Britain, France or any other European power engage in any meaningful dialogue with Russia for this country was now well and truly in the grasp of one man alone, a dictator called Vladimir Putin.
Whilst the 20th century dictators of the last era espoused vicious and divisive ideology which pitched themselves and their people against their European neighbors, today’s 21st century approach is much more surreptitious. Initially ingratiating himself into the international framework and world order, Putin found himself in the center of political pageantry at the G7, hosting international sports events such as the Olympics, winning and dining with other world leaders and attending joint memorials honoring historic sacrifices of nations. The signs of his growing demagogue power were evident if you looked closer to home however deals were done internationally, business thrived in locations across the world and for all intents and purposes, there were no obvious restraints in communication between modern Russia and its western counterparts.
Since 2022, all of us have had the unfortunate challenge of not being able to avoid the reality of a Putin-led Russia. In 2019, Ukraine, a neighbor and former Soviet ally held an election that was won by Volodymyr Zelensky, a vote which demonstrated the public’s desire to distance itself from its past, a past mired by corruption, Soviet links, dodgy deals and Russian-linked political power. As the nation and its people exercised their democratic decision to try and distance itself from the tentacles of its much bigger and over-powering neighbor, Putin had other ideas about drawing it back into the fold.
Whilst many academics and experts have discussed with great enthusiasm what the true motivating factors are for Putin and his ambitions for Russia, the answer is not as important as you may think. Whether he wants to restore the Soviet Union to its former glory or live in the lavish style of the Tsars of years gone by, Putin has demonstrated that whatever it is that motivates him, Ukraine is in his sights and he does not believe it has a right to exist. This fact alone should tell everyone else in the world that believes in the basic principles of human rights that he cannot and should not be allowed to achieve his aims.
In the last three years, western powers have made steps to provide military aid in the form of weapons, training and finances. These steps were cautious and contentious as many were reticent such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who hesitated in authorizing the export of Leopard 2 tanks. The French President Emmanuel Macron likewise took a long time to get on board with the mission to help Ukraine, at first attempting to engage Putin in a dialogue which ended in silence.
The domestic challenges all nations felt also posed a threat to securing long-term and meaningful support to Ukraine, as economies across Europe and the world battled with the economic challenges of cutting business ties with Russia, securing energy guarantees elsewhere and the rising cost of food and fuel. The people however showed sympathy. Many nations saw demonstrations of allegiance to Ukraine demonstrated with rallies, offering of homes for refugees and charity packages arranged and delivered.
Ukraine’s neighbor Poland demonstrated the kindness of everyday people who lined up ready to receive Ukrainian refugees whose exit from the country mimicked a scene more reminiscent of World War Two.
Was all this for nothing?
Right now the new President of the United States Donald J. Trump has decided to reverse all the efforts of the last few years and go full steam ahead with a new agenda, supporting Putin in order to end the war. Whilst his business credentials are admirable and the desire to strike lucrative deals for minerals in Ukraine and work closer with Russia to gain more controls and opportunities in the Arctic are evident, his transactional approach has strayed into unchartered territory, quite literally.
Whilst a peace deal is in itself an admirable goal, the methodology chosen by the American leader has eviscerated the Ukrainian President, leading to the leader of the Free World sounding more like a spokesman for the Kremlin. There are those who claim that this is merely a business tactic of hard negotiations which is tried and tested by Trump, however it demonstrates something far more sinister.
Donald Trump is a businessman first and foremost. This peace deal is thus not a deal to end war and create an armistice but is a means to an end to reignite business deals, unlock frozen assets and focus on what truly engages Trump, the desire to see America as a resurgent superpower that can rival its only true threat, China.
In its current state America is not capable but with an expansive, hegemonic and imperialistic vision unfiltered and unconstrained by restricting factors such as human rights, sovereignty and basic human principles, there is no avenue that cannot be explored.
To this end, Ukraine is first and foremost the living, breathing definition of collateral damage. Peace is not the agenda. Business is the agenda. If Ukraine is an impediment to the aims of two world leaders such as Putin and Trump then they will simply force the nation to stand to one side.
Trump’s accusations that Zelensky is a dictator and that he started the war was not only grossly unjust and inaccurate but symptomatic of the new dystopian world order we are entering around the globe. A new chapter which sees truths become lies and lies become truth in a matter of seconds because it serves a bigger purpose and someone has the power to execute this without being truly challenged.
In the post-war conferences and meetings of the Second World War, leaders carved up Nazi Germany into administrative zones, imposed new rules and initiated judicial processes to deal with and reverse the years of Nazification. Today Ukraine is on the chopping board with its territory, governance and assets all at stake. The important difference being that Nazi Germany was a defeated power and the aggressor. Ukraine is neither.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to use provocative language and baseless statements of supposed facts in a vicious character assassination against Zelensky. These are defended by some as tactics but in reality, his words and deeds are no more than a ruthless pursuit of self-aggrandizement.
In the coming days, weeks and months a peace deal rather than a business deal should be struck, one that puts the fate of the Ukrainian people and all its future generations at the heart of its goals. Whilst transactional methods work in business, the collateral damage is incomparable. A liquidized company is not the same as a liquidized country.
Trump is powerful and purports to be an effective negotiator but Ukraine could be his downfall. If security and human rights are not put front and center of the negotiations than history may judge Trump not as an impressive leader of America but instead Russia’s most useful idiot.
[Photo by the White House, via Wikimedia Commons]
Jessica Brain is a UK-based freelance writer specializing in history, foreign policy, and geopolitics. With a BA (Hons) in History from the University of Warwick, she produces content for both online and print publications. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
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