{"id":3239,"date":"2022-03-08T14:51:24","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T19:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whia.us\/?p=3239"},"modified":"2022-03-14T06:00:06","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T11:00:06","slug":"russias-invasion-of-ukraine-is-a-dangerous-nostalgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whia.us\/en\/3239\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine is a dangerous nostalgia"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a speech at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, Kenyan U.N. Ambassador Martin Kimani said it very clearly with reference to his own country\u2019s history:<\/span> \u201cThis situation echoes our history,\u201d Kimani said, condemning Moscow\u2019s moves. \u201cKenya and almost every African country was birthed by the ending of an empire. Our borders are not of our own drawings. They were drawn in the distant colonial metropoles of London, Paris, and Lisbon with no regard for the ancient nations that they cleaved apart.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ambassador Kimani\u2019s speech\u00a0was a sensation at the\u00a0emergency Security Council session, and for a good reason. It also\u00a0went viral on social media, which is where I read it. It is indeed a\u00a0dangerous nostalgia for former or aspiring empires\u00a0to lead sovereign nations to redraw borders by force to reunite with citizens of other nations with whom they share cultural affinity.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the exact argument the Russian president has used to justify the deadly Russian invasion of Ukraine, a country that gained its full independence after a vote in 1991.<\/span><\/p>\n

President\u00a0Putin\u2019s post colonial war is isolating Russia. NATO is arguably the strongest it has been since 1989, and its unity have been on full display in the wake of the deadly invasion of Ukraine. Even former President Donald Trump has said that the US and its allies should be doing a lot more than just sanctions. \u201cPutin understands how to avoid sanctions, and he goes through other countries. He goes to China, for example.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the war has also changed the Sino-Russian relationship. China has its own post imperial ambitions.\u00a0We don\u2019t know what Chinese leader Xi Jinping knew, but we know the communists in Beijing are deemed to have been complicit. We haven\u2019t seen Xi backing away from Putin, but China\u2019s imperial ambitions depend on an open world economy in trade and technology. They want to buy\u00a0Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, bit by bit.\u00a0However, if it continues to back Putin, it\u2019s unlikely that China will\u00a0be successful in reshaping\u00a0global and regional institutions to suit their ambitions.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I see it, the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia have only one choice: To stick together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia have only one choice: To stick together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[212,127],"series":[1027],"coauthors":[203],"class_list":["post-3239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions","tag-ukraine","tag-usa-world-en","series-whia-synergy"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/whia.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/main-qimg-7e484d93ca8c43fd84a680a3cb83b91b.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/whia.us\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/whia.us\/en\/feed\/podcast\/whia-synergy","embedCode":"

Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine is a dangerous nostalgia<\/a><\/blockquote>