Best line: "...second-place finish in the 2016 U.S. election."
And surely Mr. Stephens didn't do this by accident, but did anyone else notice how easy it would be to substitute that second place finisher's name in his last paragraph describing "...a criminal president who poses a clear and present danger to democratic society. But nobody can accuse him of being feckless or pallid or unwilling to pull a trigger. He’s exciting in the way of a tiger pouncing on prey. So long as he’s allowed to pounce he’ll continue to win new admirers and future elections, not just his own."
36
Euro-Putinism thrives because Putin has been carefully capitalising on the weaknesses within the EU to effectively deal with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and the influx of refugees in 2015. He has fanned the flames of nationalism, anti-establishment sentiments against the EU and Nato and enhanced his clout outside Russia.
He forges ties with populists on the left and right to discredit mainstream parties, creating a destabilising effect on the European unity. He is clever enough to not let populists across Europe feel threatened by Russia by portraying the others as enemies. The question is how long Putin can go on as a confrontational and revisionist maverick seeking revenge for the humiliation his country suffered when the Cold War ended.
16
Bravo, Bret! Whatever happened to leadership?
5
Jeremy Corbyn, who actually defended Russia against charges of responsibility for the recent poisonings, makes Trump look like Putin’s most outspoken detractor. How the Labour Party continues to support Corbyn is absolutely mind boggling.
28
The leader of our Foreign Enemy is a wicked villain and a criminal.
This is the kind of insightful analysis that makes one cherish the US media.
10
What? No invasion of Russia? No bombing of Moscow? What the World come to? In old happy days, unproven suggesting that a country possesses WMD was enough reason to destroy the country. Hmm... All this is Putin's fault
14
Putin’s Russia
What’s to expect as a turncoat and spy?
Patriot medals or a face full of lie,
Or slow acting poison? It’s Putin’s pick -
Whatever your end – be sure it ain’t quick,
The Brits took you in, a haven from fear,
But cross-country strikes are now in high gear;
They’ll find you, they will, and will do you in
Slow as molasses they will peel off your skin;
Hate to say it but a smile is a must
When your corpse is turned to ashes and dust.
9
Mr. Stephens apparently forget to mention Obama in his list of "leaders" who stood for nothing, other than the status quo and for themselves. Putin has supporters from the left and right, from people and their elected leaders who are fed up with hyper-globalization, with unrestrained immigration, with the religiously and nationally empty spiritual existence in the Western World.
Putin acts, as Stephens notes, whereas the list of those marching in place only were able to talk. Yes, talk is nice, it makes people feel that it is like acting, but after a while it becomes more apparent that ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. The US has been unable to deal with Russia because Bush and Obama didn't have the wit to direct putin's anxieties toward China, where it should be directed. Perhaps it was because of the influence of Wall Street finance and US-based multinats that were able to rake in "UGE" profits from the China market and low cost labour.
The popularity of Putin and the increasing role of authoritarian leaders who offer some direction to a largely directionless population indicates that the past 70 years of passive materialism and spiritual shallowness has reached its end. In several clear ways the phenomenon of the interwar period is being re-enacted. What really is the alternative? Stephens focuses on Europe, but in Turkey and in China and Africa, the rise of elected autocrats, seems to be the wave of the future. In this context, T-Rump is a footnote.
21
The characterization of Putin and Russia as right-wing isn't that simple. During his annexation of Crimea Putin claimed he was acting against "fascists" and "Nazis" who were Ukrainian or Western nationalists. Russia is a multiethnic country with a deep history of anti-fascism and communism. It's incorrect to equate it to right-wing movements in Europe.
19
"Putin won a victory in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn — a man who in 2011 called NATO “a danger to world peace” — became leader of the Labour Party." Really, this attempted smearing of social democratic leaders (like Sanders in the US), who are gaining good ground against incompetent and foolish incumbent parties in the west, makes me just stop and consider the purpose of the article and question the integrity of the Times as a whole. I didn't read on, because it was obviously a cheap shot, and tainted the rest of the piece. Sanders and Corbyn are portrayed as either disingenuous "populists" like Trump, or tools of Putin's agenda. I've read this several times in this paper, and it disappoints me, and certainly doesn't serve your readership. When leaders who run on a platform of improved health care, affordable education, more progressive taxation and improved infrastructure are smeared so obviously in the paper of note, it not only looks bad for the writers and editors, but sends voters scurrying for Trump, because it seems obvious that the "media elite" have it in for the both of them equally. Please stop this nonsense. It's almost on par with they Corbyn accusations recently that he was a Czech spy. Manipulative tabloid stuff.
30
Interesting piece with nothing new in it.
I am holding out for a similarly detailed and sharp-knifed profile on Netanyahu, who's being investigated for corruption. While at it, why not cover the disgusting wheeling-dealing among political parties that always yields the exact same government policies in Israel?
26
History will not forget Republican fecklessness in the face of Russian aggression. Obama wanted to go after Russia more harshly, but senate Republicans stopped him. We need to elect Democrats, whose political platform of social openness and personal liberty is at diametrical odds with Putin's conservative authoritarianism and closed-mindedness.
15
Sir,
President Obama had his lunch taken from him by Putin and did nothing. No Republican caused that. He did it to himself by. "Leading from behind."
12
Hillary lost and all polls show her popularity is currently under Trump's.
9
Where's Waldo? Under his bed typing inanities.
6
Why the gratuitous slap at Chancellor Merkel? That she has been weakened was not because she was feckless and pallid, but because she stood for something: giving refuge to refugees. Germany, a considerably smaller country than the USA, has taken in many times the number of the US.
20
Just saw that Trump’s lawyer has called for Rosenstein to stop the Mueller probe now that McCabe has been fired! It’s a slow drip of the Trump administration’s attempt to rout all opposition. Obstruction of justice?
8
The least Western intelligence agencies could do - could have done - is to make public detailed information on Putin's personal stash of dark money and its reach across the globe. Why it has not been done until now is a nagging question. Together with Iran and North Korea as not so distant surrogates, Russia leads a group of mafia-states imposing nuclear blackmail on the rest of the world while sucking dry their nation's resources and progressively destabilizing as many other nations as they can, using bribery, propaganda, and routine murder. The genocidal trend already advanced in North Korea, Yemen and Syria will keep expanding if it is not firmly countered by Western democracies. On one hand, Tillerson's and MacMaster's recent declarations are reassuring (not all White House officials are supporting Trump's and Republican House Intelligence Committee Members' corrupt (if not treasonous) behavior in the face of the systematic political and geostrategic serial raping that is Putin's foreign policy. On the other hand, they are warning us that we may be on the brink of a major catastrophe. The life-threatening disease that is Putin's regime is deep and far-reaching. The necessary excising of it is bound to sputter a lot of blood around the world.
9
Forgot to add Obama to the list. We have two adversaries, Russia and China. During 8 years of Obama these adversaries progressed their individual models big time. I can't figure out Trumps take, other than the fact, Nato is obsolete and costing us billions, and there is no way, we would ever want a military conflict with Russian nuke sub capability. W's dumb idea of spreading our brand of Democracy created zero interest by either Russia or China. We support the dictators we choose then support killing them.
5
Putin is like the interesting villain in a movie, set against the bland, oatmeal-colored good guys. Yeah, yeah, we know James Bond will thwart the villian’s plot (doesn’t he always?), but we still root for the interesting villain. And what great character actor doesn’t want to play the villain?
In this case President Clinton and President Bush and our NATO minions cast Russia as the villain, pushing NATO up against Russia, with predictable results—making the future more dangerous.
2
Notably absent from your list of Putin's wins is his installation of a morally venal, intellectually vacant, emotionally crippled puppet utterly compromised and dependent on Putin for everything he and his family have and who does his bidding willingly.
Is that not Putin's greatest achievment?
16
There is nothing new about so-called 'Euro-Putinism' , populism and alt-right politics.
Ethnic sectarian tribalism and nationalism is the natural normal human partisan political condition. An evolutionary fit biological genetic consequence of our craving for fat, salt, sugar, water, habitat, sex and kin by any means necessary including conflict and cooperation.
During World War II, America and it's European allies when given a choice between the socioeconomic political autocrat Stalin and the Soviet Union and the ethnic sectarian nationalist Hitler and Nazi Germany, allied with the Bolsheviks over the fascists as the lesser evil. But 27.5 million Soviets died in order for Vladimir Putin to be the fluent German speaking KGB station chief stationed in Dresden East Germany. There is some basis for rational discussion around socioeconomics and politics. But ethnic sectarian loyalties defy logic.
Putin was born and raised in St. Petersburg in a humble lower class household. Putin grew up on the legend of Russian Czar Peter the Great. Putin is not bent on resurrecting the Soviet Union as the next Comrade Stalin. Putin seeks renewing Mother Russia as the first Russian Czar Vladimir the Magnificent.
10
You write "Vladimir Putin is a criminal president who poses a clear and present danger to democratic society. But nobody can accuse him of being feckless or pallid or unwilling to pull a trigger." Who else does that sound like? Surely there is something between pallid and impulsive. I hope the Democrats (big D and small) can find it.
2
Simply put, Putin is a racist, like most Russians and, apparently, a growing number of Europeans who resent the immigrant horde of "others" diluting their pure white countries with black, brown, Muslim and other newcomers. Trump is also a racist, which is why he regards Putin as a kindred spirit, and why Trump's neo-Nazi supporters and alt-right web sites like Breitbart are pro-Russian. They may live to regret it.
9
and the solution is?!?!?
3
Putin is willing to be allies with 'radical environmentalists?' I'm glad I"m not the only one in this forum to notice this outrageously nonsensical, baseless allegation. Please provide some proof of this howler in your next column!
Also, regarding Corbyn's criticism of NATO cited by Stephens, we need some context: The US promised the Russians that we would not expand NATO to the East after the end of the USSR, but we have done so anyway, arriving on Russia's doorstep, while supporting virtual Nazis in the Ukrainian government. Clearly, when the Warsaw Pact went away, we in the West didn't struggle long with any arguments about why NATO was still necessary. We just kept it.
10
@W Rosnthal: exactly correct. The Corbyn reference was a gratuitous smear, and the quote without historical context. I expect better out of the Times. And the author ropes in as many left-wing leaders as he could. In Greece, there would be an obvious reason people might lean toward another source of funding: the EU has kept them basically bankrupt for years, and unable to fix their domestic problems. There is a reason people look elsewhere - their current democratic structures aren't serving the populace as a whole. But in that, it doesn't mean they're particularly looking at Putin as a model. It just means their system of government is failing them. Perhaps we would be better served by an article that looks to how we can strengthen our own situation. Then Russia won't be such a big problem. I distrust all this Russian drumbeating in the media, anyways. It smells like Iraq, and we know where that lead.
11
I don't think leaders who believe in human rights and democracy areweak. If you believe they are then you're falling for Putin's lies.
3
Victory? Before you defeat somebody, shouldn't that somebody have a legit chance to win? Like Trump, Putin is a punk. Seems to be a market for that kind of thing these days. But, unlike Russia, we have a way out...VOTE! (Maybe it will count)
3
Putin's Russia is nothing more than an international criminal organization, a Kremlin Cosa Nostra, masquerading as a sovereign nation. It, and its "leaders", must be evaluated and dealt with from that perspective. Criminality has seeped into every aspect of its nefarious operations, from the doping scandals that have enveloped its athletes to its worldwide internet illegalities to the murderous hunting of enemies living outside its borders to felonious intrusions into the election processes of numerous nation states.
These are the human dregs that our Fake President has willingly obliged and assiduously courted, previously in his shady business dealings and now as the head of the presumptive "leader of the free world". Complicity and conspiracy through both action and inaction. How many of you would invite a Mafia Don and his criminal cohort over to your house for grand feasting,celebration and fawning adulation, while some of the Don's "soldiers" stealthily plotted for and also stole your precious belongings? That has been the unprecedented modus operandi of Trump's lawless White House.
Impeach, Convict, Remove, Indict, Convict, and Imprison! MAGA.
5
Poor little Brett. This would be funny if it weren't so pathetic. No evidence for any of the charges...just lots of whining: a veritable tantrum against The Big Bad Russian Bear. He & Bruni don't like "the oaf"..."the deplorables" put in office. They'd rather have had The Times' candidate, Lady Hillary Macbeth? that the former executive editor-turned columnist, Bill Keller (who had supported Bush's invasion of Iraq then his re-election by withholding a devastating government surveillance story by The Times own James Risen) basically nominated The Times' very own (Establishment) candidate, Hillary! as "Just the Ticket" (1/8/12) to serve as Obama's VP candidate then, of course, to succeed him in 2016. Despite the fact that Obama picked Biden instead, The Times slanted the "news" and "views" non-stop thereafter to make sure that "Lady Hillary Macbeth" would be elected President. But ever since The Times/Goldman-plated-Establishment candidate flopped...they've been blaming Putin!? As I said, it's pathetic to see how The Paper of Record" has lost...not only the 2016 election...but its credibility...yet is still scrambling to put The American Empire back together by hiring such see-through hacks as Brett to manufacture the glue. No matter that The British Empire, with all of its King's men and media...couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again...even a look-alike, Winston Churchill stand-in.
9
I’ve noticed a tendency in The Times to strap Italy’s Five-Star Movement together with Putin. It’s a gross oversimplification and serves no purpose except to smear the 5-Star Movement — whose real objective is as opposite Putin’s as you can imagine: transparency in Italian government.
The distortion within Italian politics The Times never mentions (and by the way I think the Italy-based commentator Beppe Severgnini has spoon-fed it to his American counterparts) is that for over 45 years following WWII Italy was literally half-communist. The communist party, squarely opposed to Mussolini from the start, emerged from the war looking pretty good compared to what had just gone down. Too bad for Italy, which suffered horribly from the hair-brained ideas of the communists who, among other things, turned down the US Marshall Plan because Stalin told them to.
Fast-forward to the present day and yep, there are still “communists” in Italy. They have no political party of their own anymore, the hammer and sickle flag being snickered at since the fall of the Soviet Union, and apparently have gathered under the roof of the 5-Stars just to keep out of the rain. This does NOT make the 5-Stars “pro Putin,” as this piece among many others alleges. I and many of my educated Italian friends are ardent supporters of the 5-Star Movement, and we see Putin for what he is: a foul residue from the Cold War, waiting to be sponged away by history.
5
Your argument really boils down to, "most of the leftover commies have joined up with Five Star, so how dare you say that Five Star is in any way allied with a KGB colonel?"
Good grief.
By the way, Stephens' pont was that Five Star's views and policies are exactly the sort of thing that helps Putin create confusion and chaos.
2
In the end (it sometimes takes a while) pragmatism trumps ideology, but beware
neither are these words in Trump's very limited vocabulary
2
Thanks for reminding us what Putin is doing. And there is not enough effort from European leaders, but unfortunately they lack of the clarity of purpose. Trump will never stand up for this nation against Russia. He is weak and disinterested except if the story is of one about him. His inaction verges on treason.
4
Russia has a KBG expert, now Don with riches for himself, and command of world class military assets. He has been at war with us forever, often we have treated him as a possible or real ally. Now we have a CIA director going to the State Department which has failed for years to get a handle on how to deal with Russia. Maybe this round we can get it right.
The possibility of blackmail because of the ability to shut down our electric grid, foul our water systems and more, has finally gotten Trumps attention. But remember, this danger has been warned of for decades and scoffed at while we try to woo Putin.
Putin's war to dominate continues, and now we seem to be gearing up to do battle, the new era of battle where Nukes aren't the issue, it is propaganda, it is cypber space, it is CIA Territory more than Military territory....although without the Military option, Cyber will fail after a first strike.
2
It might be equally logical to argue that there is another counter force at work in Europe .With each passing month it can be seen that the election of Trump has actually been a catalyst to further unite Europe.That fact can be seen in the readiness of Europe to retaliate swiftly to a Trump initiated trade war and the pending taxation of big American tech companies for not least their malignant role in skewing elections.Across Europe truly fake news will be deleted and large fines will be meted out.While the author assigns great influence to Putin ,the impact of the policies of Macron and Merkel will be far more important and the EU is also the largest market in the world
2
As Mr. Stephens implies and other comments below concur, the democratic state has a big challenge ahead of it - how to remain true to democratic ideals and at the same time confront internet-age strongmen.
Trump's answer for the US is simple - trash its distinctive brand and join the pack of despot-driven nation states. A reversion to the old model.
The self-styled "greatest nation in human history" now confronts a huge challenge to its remarkable mission statement and huge success over the last quarter of a millennium - will it have staying power for the long haul?
3
Well, Vladimir Putin has already won one American election in 2016. As a result, we have a feckless president dedicated to carrying out Putin's mandate by dismantling our democratic institutions and concerning himself only with his own self preservation.
Given President Trumps non-response to Russian assaults on America's electoral machinery, we can safely say that President Trump is Putin's puppet. In this regard, Hillary Clinton was entirely correct during one of her presidential debates with Donald Trump.
We now have two senior cabinet figures, one just fired and the other about to be fired, moving involuntarily out of this administration immediately after their strongly-stated objections to Russian perfidy abroad.
Meanwhile, the president himself remains tight-lipped about the serially criminal activities of his Russian puppeteer. If this doesn't threaten the long-term health of our democracic character, then I don't know what does.
As David Remnick opines in the current addition of the New Yorker, only the mass participation of American citizens voting in the 2018 and 2020 elections can save what has taken the country 250 years to build.
4
Here we see one of your fundamental flaws Brett, the sneaking admiration for power in action. It’s a common conservative failing. On the other hand, let’s admit The devil stole the show in paradise lost, and the inferno is the most interesting part of the divine comedy. But let’s not confuse interesting with admirable.
4
History shows that the people of a nation usually turn to authorian leaders when they perceive that nothing is being accomplished by prevailing forms of government. Our deadlocked, gridlocked congress, where meaningful reforms are seldom if ever enacted, and just as easily repealed when partisan control shifts hands, should take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror. They are responsible in large measure for the would-be despot who currently occupies the White House.
5
This column is all tactics and no strategy and it sadly exemplifies a fixed mindset among too many (members of the "elite" media included) -- that is, unless I'm "winning", I must be "losing." And, of course, those terms are defined by who's exercising raw, naked power in that particular moment.
We're not going to "win" by beating up on this, that or the other leader/country even if we feel that they are currently beating up on us.
The only way we are going to win is to understand what all people want from their leaders, have an honest discussion about those wants and then work towards reasonably satisfying those wants.
And among the most powerful of wants is the desire for safety and security, INCLUDING safety and security from one's own government. This country, with its laws and institutions, used to be the first among equals in offering that type of security to the vast majority of its citizens. Hence, one reason why we were a beacon to so many others on this planet, especially among those people who found themselves living in a thug-ocracy, like Putin's Russia.
Those ideals and values so well enshrined in our Constitution and, to a degree not often seen elsewhere on this planet, upheld by our courts and our lawmakers are what really scare the Putins of this world.
And, of course, that's why the Purins of this world are in such a thrall to Donald Trump.
2
All power hungry authoritarians act! Have you now joined the choir in seeing such retrograde activities as a an attractive option? THIS is the problem with conservatives. They love power and the fear that feeds it.
2
This article should be titled "The rise of Euro-American-Putinism."
Putin praise has been a staple of right wing commentary in America (including as a way of trying to denigrate Barack Obama in comparison) for years. and then we voted in the bullyish Donald Trump, who doesn't even bother to hide his admiration and connections to Putin and Russia.
What *is* it about human beings and this compulsion to submit willingly to autocrats like Putin when it's obvious that they are only out to use, oppress and abuse them in service to the pursuit of their own personal power?
That this bizarre form of Stockholm Syndrome should take hold in the U.S, with it's traditions of self-reliance, democracy, defense of civil liberties and human rights is as depressing as it is scary.
Republican slaves to free market orthodoxy and Democratic proponents of unbridled neoliberalism, right wing ideologues and extremist libertarians - you wanted to demonize/marginalize liberalism. Or gut government. Or give markets, extra-national corporations, and financial institutions unbridled power. Or all three. Well, you succeeded.
The result? Democracy - its ideals, institutions and norms denigrated and undermined, government rendered ineffectual, authoritarianism rising, the working class becoming ever more powerless economically and politically, and corporate power entrenching itself, untethered to democratic ideals or the national welfare.
And the Putins of the world laugh all the way to the bank.
1
That Putin is a terrible dictator is pretty obvious. But it's not personalities. It's not the "personality" of Trump or Putin, it's the deeper forces that propel them to power. In the United States, it is the utter failure of the intelligentsia to comprehend and be compassionate about the collapse of the blue collar / white working class. This is true in much of Europe as well. The system "is" working - it is practically screaming at the intelligentsia that all is not well in the heartland, and yet the intelligentsia takes the easy way out - blaming personalities and turning to identity politics. The problem is not Putin, intelligentsia, it is us.
3
The best recourse the West has to strike back at Putin is the one it will not use: Seize Russian assets. There are billions of dollars in London, New York and Paris. Europe could deal a huge blow to Russia by looking elsewhere for energy.
But the chances of this happening are close to nil because we now live in a world where capital supersedes national interests and sovereignty. I imagine Putin knows this.
4
Government is the self-organisation of a nation. In a democratic nation it has legitimate claims to be the self-organisation of the nation's citizenry - rule with its participation and consent. But the US is living the waking nightmare of adherence to Reagan's contention that government is a problem. And as the US goes, so goes the world. Did you not realise with immense power comes immense responsibility?
Certainly the Republican Party hasn't realised it for forty years. The US and the free world generally has had the leaders its major supporters have wanted or facilitated. Such have been subject to the delusion that having a power vacuum is preferable to functioning democracy. But libertarian dreams produce authoritarian monsters. Such have not been wise enough to realise that someone like Putin would arise to upset their plans.
The US political elites generally - particularly those supportive of the Republican Party - and those elsewhere too, have been subject to the delusion that higher wealth is associated with higher virtue, and to group-think. Leadership has been disparaged, discounted as unnecessary, all in one voice, as Mammon has been bowed to in unison. We have had poor leadership by design, to order, paid for.
The US and democracy have been tested. Humanity is on trial. If our most advantaged cannot but disgrace us, what hope is there for us? There's no hope with Putin or Xi. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,...."
7
How profoundly dumb! Lumping the labor party and Greece’s populist party as Putin apologists just because they resist the depredations of capitalism.
5
Putin may revel in his personal power and ill-begotten wealth, but Russia is still, and always will be, an inferior economic presence in the world. A country spanning two continents has the GDP of Italy. Russia no longer is at the forefront of a worldwide ideology, and as far as being an economic beacon to developing nations, China surpassed them years ago. Putin's Russia is a peacock - showy feathers and a loud screech. That's it.
7
I agree with you. But it is a "loud screecher" with unmatched murderous capabilities."
1
Putin does have a deep vein of support in the U.S. Stephens is minimizing the one-sided nature of this support in this piece.
I noticed the weirdness on Breitbart, Zerohedge, and other websites even before the election. They really like Putin. Are they taking their cue from Trump or do they like the same things that Trump sees?
3
Historically, Europeans from UK to Romania (if not even Ukraine) and from Denmark to Greece dislike the Russians as a group because they are seen as less civilized, more ruthless, and because they brought communism to the continent -- though, everyone respects their cultural elites and rich cultural history. If Putin and Russia has become more palatable in recent years is only because the EU has become less palatable and tried to Americanize Europe's nations states and their ancient culture against their will, with US-like migration and ruthless capitalism, and with an authoritarian one-way rule me from Brussels that benefits the multi-nationals and big European capital at the expense of local entrepreneurs.
4
“The Kremlin is as happy to ally itself with fascists as it is with Communists, techno-anarchists or radical environmentalists.”
Really? Where is your evidence. The regime has ceaselessly championed right-wing, racist, pro-“productivist” Capitalists against “parasitic” financial elites (the Soros/boogeyman), and technocratic authoritarianism.
If we aren’t willing to talk about capitalism, we’re never going to crack this nut. But The NY Times “doesn’t have an ideology,” aside from being virulently pro-capitalist and therefore unwilling to ever see things as they are.
14
Terrible capitalism that has raised billions out of poverty and gives 90 percent of the world food to eat?
1
We need a concerted effort to sell democracy. We need a systematic approach to educating and motivating people’s involvement and love of our way of governing ourselves. We do a fine job with toothpaste, cars, and drugs, but when was the last time you saw a terrific ad for democracy? We just can’t take this attitude for granted. We need to be shooting it into our cultural veins regularly and fiercely!
8
Yes! But not a freaking ad campaign. We need to teach school children the history of the founding of our country and how and why our government functions, starting in first grade and increasing in content up to 12th grade.
Over the years, civics as a required subject to be taught in school has been severely diminished. Young adults today have no idea why it is their RESPONSIBILITY to engage (at the very least by being an informed voter) in this participatory democracy if we have any hope of preserving it--and why it is so important that we do preserve it.
I suppose the first step would be to have a Sec of Education who understands the purpose of a public school system. Then we would have a leader who supports a country-wide core set of knowledge our children need to learn in our public school system in order to function as engaged US citizens who can fulfill their innate potential, for the survival and prosperity of our country.
3
The problem is not that the US has failed to promote its brand of democracy, the problem is that the brand is soiled, it is corrupted, it is a disgrace.
4
With regards to a couple of today’s comments, how is it possible we know so much about Putin's “ net worth” and can’t get ahold of Trumps tax returns? The second slightly amazing comment is the suggestion Putin supplied the coordinates to our armed forces resulting in our inadvertently blowing up a hospital; lets see we spend ten times what Russia does on “ defense” and yet Putin can in his spare time, when not fending off attempts to drag his country into war, amass billions for himself yet never seems to leave the office to enjoy it and for amusement perhaps rejigger our bombing missions. I would humbly suggest the rise of Putinism in Europe has much more to do with the financial and refugee crisis we created. We need to clean up our own house addressing inequality for starters not cast aspersions abroad and start yet more wars.
14
One cannot condemn Putin while ignoring what he means to ordinary Russians whose daily life under his 18 years is better than it has ever been with well stocked supermarkets in spite of sanctions. Noone outside Russia can fathom what Russians have had to do with. Putin is the people´s emperor as fulfiller of everyone´s demand for a better life.
11
Ruthless leader who are nationalists and truly loved by their people. Sounds familiar. Russia today is a nation crippled by corruption - from very top to the very bottom of their society. Rich and poor, involving tens of millions of people. Would you put your life-savings in a Russian bank? I wouldn't. Putin is a brilliant man, I don't question that. But he started out his career working for the KGB. That says a lot.
2
Of course Putin is elected for a fourth term, it was a "slam dunk".
Russia has a parliament and Putin's party, United Russia controsl it. Any opposition is stifled, to include freedom of the press and elections are rigged.
Yes, a "slam dunk"
2
The West is collapsing.
And the people who are the root cause of the collapse are just now beginning to recognize it, but remain utterly baffled about why it's happening.
It's surreal.
Trump is the symptom of decades of rot.
The decline started with Reagan and supply-side maximize-shareholder-value capitalism, accelerated after the end of the Cold War when Clinton adopted neoliberal economics and hyper-globalization and was instrumental in China's entry into the WTO, continued through the 2000's with the incredibly disastrous tenure of W economically and geopolitically, and then culminated with Obama refusing to hold Wall Street accountable and failing spectacularly to deliver the change that he so eloquently promised.
And then Trump came along, and now they have somebody to blame.
For everything.
People are angry because the system has failed them, repeatedly. And there is no accountability. Ever.
So they want strong leaders, everywhere.
And technological change is about to increase the appeal of strong leaders by an order of magnitude.
This is what it looks like when societies fall apart from neglect. Get used to it. It's just getting started.
We've entered the era of strongmen. And, like the financial crisis in 2008, none of the "experts" and "pundits" saw it coming, while anybody paying attention in the real world knew it was inevitable ever since it became clear that the American middle class has been going backwards for the entire 21st century.
28
The best analysis of the present situation I’ve seen. Thank you.
Our leaders have squandered our wealth and authority.
5
People who live in democracies will always have a grudging admiration for people like Putin because authoritarian rulers seem so much more efficient and dynamic than democratic leaders. Trying to get useful reforms through our US Congress, for example, and into practical use requires years of debates, amendments, and revisions. It's no wonder that we have the outdated and misconceived electoral college as an archaic part of our legislative process. Even when we do get sensible reforms passed, such as the banking reforms Obama fought for, these can easily be nullified when we elect a dolt like Trump. Other nations can effectively and quickly ban children from buying military assault weapons, but in the US we can only endlessly debate such actions as the years roll by and more and more people die.
I wish I still believed that our constitutional republic form of government is the best and fairest way to govern. But a more authoritarian government seems "more fit," in the Darwinian sense, than our lazy, unnecessarily complex and corrupt system of government.
4
Yes, if only those silly voters and their representatives, and that darn Constitution and Bill of Rights, weren’t constantly getting in the way of progress. If only we were more like China. Who needs a First Amendment if we could achieve 6%-plus GDP growth in an annual basis, right?
5
So, you indicate that corruption in our system contributes to our failing state. And the complexity of a representative system of democracy is too bothersome. But Putin's Russia is what, free of corruption? and not strangled by bureaucratic inefficiencies and political shenanigans? Really???
1
Stephens' core argument is absurd ...
if it WAS Putin who did the poisoning, he could easily have done so without leaving a trace ... that is, why provoke -- needlessly -- what was sure to be a hysterical reaction by the West?
(never mind that there's not a scintilla of evidence the poisoning was done by Russia ... There's ALWAYS a jump to conclusions, before anyone can actually look at any proof / or lack thereof) ...
it's the same story about Assad (supposedly) using chemical weapons - why would he pointlessly provoke the West, when he's already just about won the war? (never mind that the so-called moderate rebels have a proven history of using such weapons, and have every logical reason to continue doing so)
simply put: rather than use plain logic, neocons like Stephens prefer to twist and obfuscate ...
common sense goes out the window when ideology comes first
the irony is that people like him are so absurdly quick to accuse OTHERS of being conspiracy theorists
10
Sounds like you don’t know what “a scintilalla evidence” is. They’ve identified the weapon and it has a strong (if not exclusive) connection to Russian intelligence. That’s what we call evidence.
2
The whole point is that Putin's enemies are getting the message, we will kill you and your friends and allies are powerless, Why bother hiding when you want everyone to know and more importantly fear you?
1
Putin will win this election, again, not because he is "popular" or "beloved" in Russia but because he is the head mobster in a mobster-like government. Listing off some lackluster European leaders in condescension does not make Putin any more of a statesman or a political talent or in any way admirable with his length of time in power. Oh, and "wickedness", Mr. Stevens is, yes, a "quality" but hardly a positive attribute.
4
It is almost past the middle of this column when Trump makes his appearance as a reason why Putin and his strong arm tactics are playing around the world. The carefully built soft power that America built after WW-II has been eroded in a little over one year of the orange Lilliputian.
And the resultant vacuum is being filled by Russia and China. Thank you Trump. You have indeed Made America Goof-up Again!
5
Sham or not even Russia appears to hold elections on weekends.
8
Europe has only themselves to blame. An absolutely insane refugee/migrant policy, coupled with Merkel’s open door invitation, instantly destroyed the post-Cold War liberal western consensus on values of inclusion, global citizenship, and increased unity (the EU).
12
Mr.Stevens is over thinking it. Putin is an autocrat with ambition. He uses some of his power to extend his cult of personality. He uses some of it to sow discord among countries that oppose him by funding fringe elements. There is no majic to it. It isn’t that he has ‘a quality’ or that there is a leadership vacuum in Europe. A clear eyed view is more helpful and avoids elevating a thug.
5
That crack about Trump's 2d place finish is clever, but seeing him take over the government as if in a coup is not funny. He has parlayed oligarch money into a license to kill (literally, a new war.)
Could it be that Europe prefers Putin to America's endless wars and rumors of wars?
4
One sure thing we seem United on here in the U.S. is that we won’t be paying any attention whatsoever to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
2
One obvious rejoinder (so why am I bothering?) is that Merkel took substantial political risk (and paid for it at the polls) in admitting a million or so refugees. Feckless? Pallid?
10
Trump wants this country to be just like Russia, with him and his cronies as reigning oligarchs and no regard for the people. He cares nothing for anyone but himself - a copy of Russian leadership. That’s where the US is headed; and, if the American people knew anything about what Russia is like, they’d get rid of Trump posthaste. The problem is that Americans are so ignorant of what Russia really is.
8
Brett, you have no idea how much, at age 71, it comforts me that I am closing in so quickly to being dead, that I really don't spend much time worrying about Putin. The fact that I have no grandchildren is just added relief. My two sons I do worry for, hoping they are able to join me in the absolute peace of oblivion before Trump, Putin and their fellow henchpersons turn the Earth into Planet Gulag.
2
Your story was interesting until you lost all credibility with the comment that Trump finished second in 2916. Let’s be clear: the purpose of the Electoral College system is to protect minority rights - repeat - minority rights. It’s perfectly clear that you and the NYT only care about minority rights for those with whom you agree.
2
Angela Merkel as a weak leader by comparison with Putin???? That is beyond ridiculous. Over her long career of playing politics in a multi-party democracy, Ms Merkel has shown qualities, like the ability to protect her principles and goals in the face of very vocal opposition (and without a police state to back up how awesome virile persona), which Vlad would be completely unable to do well at. That is because he is a bully. You might disagree with Merkel, but she has been a much more impressive politician and human being than any of the men you have put her next to.
34
The president always says that the world is laughing at us. Guess who is laughing the hardest? Donald's pal Vlad. Trump should remember one off his favorite stories about the frog and the scorpion.
2
I fail to understand why you can't take a cruise tour of the baltic region without stopping in at St. Petersburg. I've looked for years for such a tour. All the major cruise lines, mostly populated with US tourists but also lots of Canadians, Brits, Aussi's etc. even specially promote Putin's hometown. I've no doubt it is a special and fascinating place but I can't bring myself to support that mafia state and it shocks me there isn't more of a market that reflects feelings of people like me who admire Russia but don't want to spend a cent to support a murderous mafia state. What can governments do to encourage greater discrimination by tourists against Russia? Oh yes, and how about those cruises from Japan through Alaska that have Russian stops?. It is long past time to apply a tourist tourniquet to Putin.
3
And Trump wants to be just like him.
5
" statement of dominance ". Yes, like a big dog marking his territory in liquid form. Trumps " infatuation " is not just admiration for a real dictator, it's a debtor paying homage to his master. Is anyone so naive to NOT realize Trump is up to his eyeballs in debt to Russians ? Who else would buy his "luxury" properties, best described as Las Vegas meets Alabama trailer park. A perfect front for money laundering, with high commissions and extra special benefits, like professional hackers. Saint Ronald Reagan IS rolling over in his grave. Hope you're proud, GOP.
13
As the world turns right, toward war and chaos, the waning of US leadership, turned complicity, is all the more worrying. These are similar to preconditions before the World Wars.
Putin, of course, believe that he can instigate wars and remain on the sidelines, to emerge stronger, post war.
He has convinced stumpy that the US has much to gain by aligning with Russia's strength but, of course, stumpy is a total fool being played like the imbecile he is. In that re-alignment, the US will take a huge hit.
This is not a time for retrenchment, promoted by cowards and ignoramuses. Hillary knew that.... the rest of us need to wake up and soon.
5
"Donald Trump’s second-place finish in the 2016 U.S. election."
Shouldn't this read "first-place"?
1
Nope, that’s right, he won the 2nd place finish. Which number is bigger - 65,844,954 or 62,979,879?
1
Most politicians are human, imperfect. The trick is to elect the one least susceptible to human failings, like greed, pride, sloth. America has been having trouble with this.
6
“It doesn’t help Britain or the rest of Europe to have, in Donald Trump, an American president who until recently was publicly infatuated with Putin, and has so far allowed only toothless sanctions on Russia for its electoral meddling.”
This is the kind of column that makes one lose hope.
The word is not “meddling,” Mr. Stephens. The word is subverting. Can we please, just once, speak the truth without dressing it up in the language of bureaucrats? “Publicly infatuated with Mr. Putin.” Really, “infatuated?” How about “owned by?” As for Trump’s toothless sanctions, can we tell the truth there, too? Who, exactly, is letting him get away with it? The entire Republican Party, standing behind him in full support. Mr. Stephens neglects to mention them. Why?
Because the American media refuse to tell the truth to the American people.
The word you’re looking for, Mr. Stephens, but can’t seem to find, is treason. When you and everybody with a platform like yours is willing to call the Republican Party treasonous, when you’re ready to describe the president as treasonous, you will have something worthwhile to say. Until then it’s all blather.
Are any of you prepared to be Walter Cronkite? Are any of you prepared to tell the truth before it’s too late? God knows, it may already be too late.
6
A renascence of truth; don't miss this 'love train'.
Historically, democracy has always struggled and Putin and his followers are another chapter on this continuum. Consider the 1930s when fascism
and communism were on the march. Democracies were few and far between. Only magnificent Britain had the courage to stand alone against Hitler when the US took a powder until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. But then the US exercised extraordinary leadership. We rebuilt Western Europe and Japan in our image. We brought real justice to the Nazi war criminals. We created the modern institutions of the Washington Consensus. And, the Cold War reality was that communist totalitarianism was simply unappealing in comparison to democratic capitalism. But we fell down badly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The stupid wars in reaction to 911 dramatically weakened America and deregulated capitalism led to various destructive cycles. The Supreme Court's action of arbitrarily installing George W. Bush as president, and the Citizens United decision which led to weak Hilary Clinton facing Trump in the epic fail of democracy, directly revealed the underlying weakness of American democracy in the age of unlimited big money. Today, as in the 1930s, Britain stands almost alone against an ascendant Russia and China. We need to have a serious discussion about how the American structure of government profoundly failed us or get used to The Donald as our Putin.
4
An absolutely correct reply and and summary of how we got here. Paints the big picture. Thank you Todd -
1
The Oaf who took the Oath of Office is a humbug? Can the sorcerers apprentice pick up the despot shtick in time for the 2020 elections?
Is this the beginning of a Finlandization of Europe? Nordstream’s Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is already a willing supplicant who is “pulling 4 Putin”.
Why aren't any civilized nations talking about boycotting the World Cup hosted by Russia in 3 months?
12
Putin is only taking advantage of the discontent in certain segments of the populations in Western Europe and the USA.
This discontent is fueled by the residual financial trauma of the Great Recession that has resolved for most people but still afflicts a plurality of our citizens and those in Europe.
People are not fools. when they see in the USA that both parties raise money from Wall Street and Silicon Valley tycoons and know as sure as day follows night these are the people our elected representatives listen to.
They know that their lives and the lives of their children are not going to be as relatively prosperous as their parents were.
Putin did interfere in our election just as we have interfered in elections across the world since 1945.
Trump won because he had a deeply flawed opponent and he lied that he was going to help "the forgotten man".
If the forgotten people here and Western Europe could actually believe their elected representatives wanted to help them none of this would happen.
The Republican recent tax cut is a perfect example of legislation pushed through in the dead of night that 80% of the benefits go to the top 1-2% either as a direct tax cut or as a CEO with stock benefits and the hedge fund owners marginal rate stayed as low as a secretary..
2
Another great comment from Wisconsin. I may have to consider a move!
1
Western democracies, despite their many internal problems, must still defend themselves against attack from foreign enemies. Putin is currently waging war against us and our allies. In war a proportionate response is no longer sufficient.
4
- I predicted before the 2016 election that a Trump win would lead to a
new (perhaps tacit) Hitler-Stalin type pact between Trump and Putin. With all
of Europe (not just Poland) put under Russia's heel. Or an Orwellian '1984'
situation where the entire planet is ruled by 3 autocrats (Xi, Putin, Trump in
today's terms).
- a very real danger - almost a certaintyl - is that Trump will not back NATO in
the event of actual military aggression by Putin (reoccupation, e.g., of any or
all of the Baltic States). Putin knows this ... and is watching carefully.
- but, as you say, Putin might be able to subdue most of Europe without any
military effort.
5
Does anyone ever want to emigrate to Russia? Never. They all want to come to the U.S or Western Europe. And of course, there is an obvious reason. Putin's country is a criminal, miserable state. Why make this absurd case that he is strong? He is desperate. The West's attractions, lifestyle, opportunity, freedom, are a direct threat to his power. The NY Times should do a better job of choosing what to print.
8
More rubbish from a scare monger. Always other people doing something to the US. Never the US and it’s childish need to be at war with the world.
Not much difference between the oligarch Trump and the oligarchs Putin, David Koch, Adelstein, Mercer, Et al in the cabl of death!
3
Dear Mr Stephens,
Just in case you would want to gain some credibility, I suggest that you improve your culture and general level of information, especially on countries you want to write about. Learn for instance the names of Europe’s past and present head of states and what they have done or not done. A good way to overcome your ignorance would be, amongst several other means, to read the New York Times.
Yours sincerely.
5
It's all very simple.
Russia is not our friend and Putin is a thug.
Russia under Putin is the ultimate kleptocracy with no regard for human life or interest in the wellbeing of its citizens (mail life expectancy is under 65 years).
Most European leaders stand for peace and prosperity (how dull), but moving to full blown US Capitalism has also corrupted European Politics which became apparent by bailing out the rich in the 2008 banking crisis.
Right-wing nutters are only interested in replacing the kleptocratic ruling classes. Racism is just a tool. Left-Wing nutters..... well show me a communist society that works.
The US has given us..... well you know....
The perfect environment for Putin and his oligarchs to flourish.
6
You forgot to mention the extremely close relationship between Netanyahu, AIPAC and Putin.
5
The thing to remember is that London is the money laundering capital of the world. Britain will not move against the Russian oligarchs because that would make others launder their money elsewhere. Britain is complicit in these murders on their soil, just as Trump is complicit in the acceptance of Russian interference in US elections. Both gain by not taking action.
7
Putin envisions another Soviet Union but not limited to Eastern Europe.
He believes he can align with the Nationalists of Western Europe and count on the collusion of their elite to preserve their privileges. Most of all he can count on Trump not to stop him.
2
How would you have had Eurpean leaders exercise power and avoid fecklessness, by violence, murder, killing journalists, meddling in elections, bombing civilians? Exercising power without the threat or use of violence is very difficult. Criticism is easy. Solutions not so much. Another feckless and obvious op ed from Stephens.
11
I concur with most of what you're saying here, Mr. Stephens, but took note when you said "Compare that to the last decade or so of European leaders... What in their personalities was anything other than feckless and pallid?" Leaders of democracies must try to be effective when the people within their country are of many different minds. That makes it nearly impossible for them to act decisively like Putin.
6
Donald Trump is also a criminal President who represents a clear and present danger to democratic society.
It it seems clear that Putin and Trump have an alliance to ensure that white male oligarnhs rule the world with corrupt authoritarianism.
12
Bret nails it. Putin is a “clear and present danger.” He probes with a bayonet: encountering flesh he carries on. Only when he hits steel will he pull back.
2
Having killed God, we must find a new Master. In a world without faith and Truth, Power and raw Will alone are worshiped.
3
That's ridiculous. This has nothing to do with a god that has shown no evidence whatsoever in over 5,000 years of having actually existed. No one needs a "new master" nor a god. In fact, most wars and unrest throughout history are the results of religious strife, with the wealthy and powerful stepping right into the middle and fanning that strife to maintain power. It's happening right now, right here with the Republican Party aligning with evangelical Christians to maintain a stranglehold on power. And now that they have it, these fine Christians are rushing to destroy all the safeguards put in place to protect workers, children, the environment, and more. God is the last thing humanity needs and the quicker we can expel its noxious, destructive stranglehold over the human mind and work towards a human-based future, the better we all will be.
There are many states that are fully secular and quite socialistic that are doing fine with "god" or "woship of power and raw will alone". Look to Scandinavia for the best examples.
1
Mr.Putin plays a weak hand well, indeed.
But a weak hand it still is: an economy, dependent on fossil fuel only, with a GDP 10% of the EU's (2017: 1,469.341 to 17.112.928), corruption all over the place and above all: Russia 's future is diffuse
Even Wladimir Putin is a mortal man, after his demise, who knows what will happen? A general, another plutocrat, utter chaos? An orderly transition of power is certainly not a Russian tradition.
11
So many articles on the botoxed wizard of evil in the Kremlin and yet the most important factor is never mentioned. Follow the money. The "services economy" of banking, real estate, spin, and education in the UK would lose a chuck of change alienating the Russian oligarchs. Sad to say that for some in London the occasional poisoning is an inconvenient bother to ignore. Germany is all about the "handel" or trade. Of course we can imagine the sleazy deals of bunga bunga Berlusconi with Russian fat cats. And of course we have plenty of inside the beltway DC types who have succumbed to the lure of contracts or a cut from Moscow clients. Until all this is disentangled and dealt with the clutching at pearls rhetoric is meaningless.
8
Russia has two main exports: natural gas and cybercrime. Putin is, right now, the world's leading mafia don. That he commands an army and nuclear weapons makes him a very effective mafia don, but he's still just a petty criminal. With the Russian army pointing its guns at them and natural gas flowing to keep their chalets warm, Europe has lived in a precarious position next to Russia. The US, though, could watch Russian antics from afar, not dependent on Russia for anything and maintaining a nuclear weapons balance.
But greed is a funny thing, and Putin has been greedy for the US for some time. Trump complicates a US response to Russian greed because everybody knows his interests align with theirs. (I don't think we should give Obama a pass on this either. His response was weak, although I don't think he saw the pattern as clearly as we do now.) It's almost as if the Russians don't care, now, that we know.
The way to isolate Russia is by offering an alternative, essentially a way of life that's not based on corruption. Here is where people apologize for Russia with "the US does it too." That's not an excuse to embrace a world dominated by Russia. We need to live up to our ideals. We don't do that by allowing the Trump family to make money off of his presidency, or putting a torturer in charge of the CIA, or by building an infrastructure that's conducive to meddling by a foreign cyber criminals. We don't need to directly engage, just offer something better.
9
London and New York City are the world’s leading repositories of Russian oligarch money. Our President had personally enriched himself on Russian money. At the end of the day Britain will not touch the oligarchs because a self isolating Britain needs the dough. We are a long way from our old friend’s “Finest Hour.”
12
In my opinion, most of the people aren’t worshipping putin. What I see here in Germany is, that some people are just against the us (and i mean the politics, not the people). The Cold War is still in some heads and they think, they have to choose. Maybe this is because of the long time our country was divided into east and west. In some people’s mind this border still exists. I agree to the writer, that most of the people who are pro Putin are either from the far right-wing or the far left-wing. Both of them ignore the real situation in Russia (human rights, autocracy, homophobia, social gap...) and glorify the situation. They draw a picture of Russia by using stereotypes. Also there is a desire for an idealized socialism. RT and Sputnik are showing growing market shares in Germany. So it is much about propaganda and it is working. On the other side these people are very critical of US media and even German newspapers and television (they call it “Lügenpresse” which means “lying press”). I hope people come around and really use their brain instead of rely upon their feelings.
4
Reading this essay I come away with the firm impression that Mr. Stephens too is an admirer of Vladimir Putin.
2
Putin has played the refugee crisis in Europe very well by inciting nationalistic sentiments. He got more than he wished for, seriously undermined western democracies. To make the harm more acute he was able to help elect his puppet in the White House. Next few years will show how those democracies respond to this threat.
In my opinion this crisis will last until new US president is elected and who may provide the leadership to unite the democratic world. Otherwise we'll all slide into nightmare of a world with fascist-like regimes which divide the world into spheres of influence by dominating weaker neighbors. Democracy is a very delicate system that absolutely requires well informed, educated and supportive population. In other words, what we see is the crisis of humanity, where people have lost the meaning of democratic and representative governance. The scale of the phenomen of single issue votersin this country, like pro-gun and anti-abortion, has been the first step in this direction in this country.
7
Bret, Trump is a greater risk to Europe than Putin. Let that one sink in. Putin is linear, Europe knows who they’re dealing with. They know their enlargement to former Warsaw Pact countries never sat well with Putin. Europe still believes free trade is the best way to achieve world peace, what you call “dependence” on Russian energy is Europe’s leverage to stay safe.
7
The way to counter Russia and China is to focus on the fundamental concept that a free exchange of ideas is what makes the world interesting and productive. It's time for a World's Fair to envision a future. It's time to replace or supplement the Olympics with international literature, art, and music festivals, Public scientific conferences and international projects to focus on climate issues, curing cancer,... Authoritarian governments can't compete with dialogue, invention, creativity, ideas. Stop trying to go through these regimes. Start going around them.
4
"The deeper reason Putin seduces is that he believes in the principle of power."
I sense that the author has been seduced by the image of Putin, an autocrat ruling an ex-superpower country with an inherited arsenal of nuclear weapons. Beyond the potential to destroy life on earth, Russia is a country with an annual GDP smaller than California's or Italy's. It leads the world in exporting oil and gas and other natural resources. Russia does not lead in any other significant area, cultural or scientific or technological.
My point here is that Putin has accomplished less than nothing. He has messed with Georgia and Ukraine, causing needless deaths and geopolitical sore spots. He has recklessly allowed a Russian antiaircraft missile crew to go to eastern Ukraine and through their incompetence shoot down a large civilian airliner. Now he allows assassinations of Russians abroad out of revenge.
But let's step back for a minute before we make some asinine disparagement of some leaders of western democracies.Strategically, Putin has gained what? No territory, besides Crimea, which adds a tiny peninsula to an already vast land territory. Beyond that he has achieved no lasting accomplishments other than to be a bully and cultivating the image of a rogue state. He has brought sanctions on himself.
Putin can be a troublesome bully no doubt, but this article impressed upon me that we are prone to underestimate the vast power we have in comparison to Russia and our ability to prevail.
7
Once again Mr. Stephens has nailed the gist of a current problem. If the US and Europe just do anything that hurts in response to Putin's aggression, he will back off and re-think, and try something new. Meanwhile, we can get ready for his next attack with proactive measures. Obama largely did that. He failed during the 2016 election because he was too worried of looking like Trump was right, and the election was rigged in Clinton's favor, despite all evidence to the contrary. But the Mr. Stephens is right, we must act. And act in concert with allies. Remember follow the money and freeze its return to Russia and Putin. The latter will scream like a stuck pig. Finally, it cannot be so hard for our and Britain's spy agencies to strike back at Putin's colleagues on the streets where they find their pleasures around the world, can it?
4
...and Trump the toady considers himself powerful.
He’s doing Putin’s own work by doing battle with the FBI and the various intelligence agencies. Putin has the goods on Trump and we all know it.
13
Russia is no stranger to incursions that took it to Paris in 1815, for example, during the disastrous fall of the Emperor Napoleon. Not to mention the occupation of Eastern Europe at the end of WWII. Only one country, Austria, succeeded in getting the Russians to leave before the era of perestroika. One would think that Europeans would remember the miseries of "communism" and not wish to invite a brutalist Russia to preside over their polities. Craven and obscene delectation of military power and political repression is apparently a huge turnon for all kinds of people...
3
What's the difference between Putin's and China's President for life power grab and extremism and our sacred
democratic system? Putin and China's leaders are open about their nefariousness while we have gerrymandering, denying citizens the right to vote, misdirection and deliberate confusion at the polling stations, etc.. The same results.
5
Great question Johnny, which of course, you answered. In my view, what happened were a series of terrible Supreme Court decisions, particularly Citizens United which poured huge money into an unstable system. The system is unstable because it was intended to give small states outsized power to protect the institution of slavery. It was also intended to have many checks on the power of the people by the elite. Finally, it invests too much power in the president who is essentially an elected, 18th century king. The system as it is operating today, has significant structural issues that make it undemocratic.
2
Bret stevens connects things that may have no genuine connection.
Europe is worried about immigration. Now it is immigration from Syria. But the population of Africa is projected to double by 2050. In coming decades it will be immigrants from Africa that will threaten to inundate Europe.
And the numbers are so large that unrestricted immigration would lead to the destruction of the cultures which made Europe such an enjoyable place for Americans to visit. The French culture, the German culture, the Italian culture.
They will become homogenized and Africanized.
There are some who would instead call for controlling population growth. There was a movement in 1972, Limits to Growth, seized upon by the Chinese in 1979 with the one-child policy.
But Europeans can't discuss such a policy because it would be interpreted as racist.
Without control of population, democratic institutions will not survive. The immigrants are too different to fully assimilate. So a resurgence of nationalism is likely. Democracy may well be replaced by autocracy.
For most Europeans, Putin is far away. Politics is local. They will do what is necessary to preserve the customs they love.
The real question people should consider is whether democracy can survive population growth. Indeed, population growth is already causing incredible misery, particularly in Africa. Civil war in the Congo, genocide in Rwanda, starvation in Sudan.
Why not stop immigration, give a one-child policy a try?
2
A murder is attempted with a nerve gas dierctly traceable to Russia.
"It wasn't us," say the Russians.
A Russian missile shoots down a commercial aircraft, and radio chatter is heard of the perpetrators bragging about it. Satellite photos show the missile launcher being deployed and then removed.
"It wasn't us," say the Russians.
Cyber attacks traceable to the Russians occur.
"It wasn't us," say the Russians.
The Russians know that we all know. They do it because they can, and they know we can't do anything about it because we rely heavily on the internet, and they and other two-bit countries don't. They are desperately trying to show that they are better than they really are, and we are desperately trying to show that we are less vulnerable than we really are. This vulnerability is compounded by the fact that our president is clueless.
14
Um, this piece is pretty feckless too. What makes you any less of a leader than the people you name? Do you not see the error of your ways? You want. power democracy than contribute. This isn't helping. It's rattling, not inspiring, What do you suggest. What does your research inform you that can support the democracy from the rise of evil?
I have a suggestion. Resilience building. All of us. You describe how swayed our leaders are by an emotional and under involved citizenry, or at lest that is what I hear as a social scientist.
So help me, will you? Look, college students do it, so do POW's. Search the internet, loo at all the books out there. Right in a way that builds our character. And help me shine a light on the 1000's of students who internalized a particularly transportable peer practice that builds critical thinking skills, generates a sense of belonging and drives volunteering. It's a story telling practice and over 30 years of students from about the most diverse urban campus in the US with the most first generation college students. San Francisco State. Did you know, SFSU was the first teachers college? Educational innovation is the mark it leaves, despite it's lack of prestige. A past president, J Paul Leonard, is the reason we have general education requirements in colleges today. Today, their mission is multicultural competency and they take it seriously.
So let's call on the students to show up at their local coffee shops and pass along character.
4
Putin believes that world chaos that destroys morality and democracy make him look better to his people and keeps him rich. It is difficult to defeat an enemy that has no morals, but that does not mean the US loses its morality to do it. (Of course, the US is lost as a moral leader with Trump.) Putin wants the proxy wars of the Cold War. He wants to keep his wealth and his power through showing force in proxy wars like Syria. It seems Putin wants to engage the US this way, yet does he not remember the Afghan wars of the 1980s? I question if Putin has a real plan other than simply world chaos that brings other nations down to the horrible level of Russia.
1
I was enjoying this article until "Donald Trump's second place finish" was mentioned. Why is Trump mentioned in an article about EURO-Putinism? More importantly, Trump won the election. If you want readers to take you seriously, report the truth. At least pretend to be mature.
1
very well written article - totally on target. Bravo!
Don't forget that he is the president of he USA too. He has a figure head in place, but he can't be everywhere. He had taken over the US while doing all else. Powerful guy.
1
Stephens would have us believe that the entire sweep of recent European politics is related to, directed by, influenced or controlled by Putin.
How can all of these desperate pieces be connected? Well they're not. The subtext to this piece is that the Europeans need to line up behind the US strategy to subdue Russia so that we can then focus our attention on our real foe, China.
Neither Stephens nor the Times leaves doubt about which side of this ideological divide they are on. And there's nothing wrong with that. Opinion pages are for opinions.
But the American people are owed an honest debate, not a hodgepodge of subterfuge and obfuscation. The American ruling elites and their handmaidens like Stephens are divided, much like the country is.
Some see Russia as our primary threat. Not because it possesses a real economic or military threat to the US but because they can interfere with our global designs as they have in Syria. So the US must use its economic and financial power to put Russia/Putin back in it's place.
The other divide believes that the rising economic clout of China is our real threat. Obama's "Asian Pivot" reflected that school of thought.
Where both factions agree is that the US should dominate the planet, economically and militarily. Their differences are how, not whether to pursue this goal.
Us little people don't get that honest debate because we just might have different ideas about our future and the future of the planet. What do you think?
4
Russia's economy is the size of Australia's with five times the people. Russia has nothing that the rest of the world cannot get elsewhere. Russia needs to be in the same category as North Korea, a failed state that yips away.
The diplomats and oligarchs should be treated as N Korea's are and be tossed out of democratic countries.
Toss them all out and ignore Putin.
4
Evil takes many forms. Here is the crux of the problem. There is a deadly juxtaposition between the dark side of humans; identified in psychological language as the neurotic/psychotic/narcissistic side, and the loving side. Western history has shown this dichotomy. As has Russian history. The dark side continues to be enormously self-destructive. It continues to haunt our species and is the cause enormous pain and suffering. It is often expressed by the words “evil” and “good.” That is far too simplistic. Putin is just one more manifestation. No different for Trump.
www.InquiryAbraham.com
1
This editorial shows a very negative opinion of humanity. Why should anyone admire a demagogic nationalistic warmonger? Certainly there are some people in America and Russia and other countries who yearn for peace, reconciliation and social justice.
2
Democratic leaders are not pallid or weak because they do not project power. They are strong because they do not need to call upon evil words and deeds to secure their place. It comes from the people, all of them
4
In the 2007 Munich Security Conference, John McCain openly scoffed at Putin’s “imperialistic influence over its neighbors.” Angela Merkel sat stony faced while Putin controlled his inner rage and smirked at the American contingency’s mockery of him. Not more than a decade later, Putin has exacted his revenge against the insults by the West through systematic infiltration of its networks, being sure to leave his trademark, including radioactive and chemical poisonings of his enemies.
You may call Angela Merkel’s response to Russia pallid; however, unlike the Americans present then and now, and coming from East Germany where Putin was a KGB agent, she knew then and in the present to take his threats seriously. We need to do the same, and if Trump will not speak and act against Putin, then he is in violation of his sworn and sacred vows to protect and defend. I would prefer Merkel’s leadership any day to the craven and corrupt Donald Trump.
3
Don’t forget the Brexit win for Putin. He has sown dissension in the U.K. as in the US and elsewhere.
2
Putin has a valuable partner in all this in Angela Merkel. I'm reminded of Senator Jordan's line about Iselin being a "paid agent" in Manchurian Candidate.
Merkel's incredibly rash move of throwing the gates open to millions of immigrants is the gift that keeps on giving. There's nothing else that could have driven so many Europeans into the arms of the right wing, that they would otherwise never have dreamed of voting for. She may have been acting out of compassion, but the rightward march of all Europe is the result.
7
The US intelligence communities obsession with Putin is really a cold war relic. What he has done is exposed US weakness. We have produced a ruling elite that wants to lead the world but has few objectives beyond their ambition to be the world's leaders. They lack any real strategic purpose just mucking around from inventing one crisis to the next.
Putin may have some vague ambition to run the world. But he has clear immediate objectives with a strategy for achieving them that leaves him stronger. By contrast we have engaged in a long string of self-defeating military, economic and diplomatic adventures that have left us progressively weaker. Putin isn't the problem, he is simply taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the last 30 years of incompetent US leadership.
And listening to our intelligence agencies will just add a few more misadventures to the list. There is nothing they have done that should give us confidence in their abilities or the information they provide to the news media.
2
Hold on, Mr. Stephens. I wouldn't be too quick about lumping Germany's Altenative für Deutschland in the pot of Euro-Putin supporters, even though there's no doubt they're on the right end of the scale.
Granted, there's a lot of grumbling going on in the former East-German states where the AfD enjoys a lot of popularity these days; as well as a lot of resentment aimed toward the wealthier West-Germany, but that doesn't mean they're ready to go running back to life under Soviet occupation, and stuck behind a Wall.
I know this, because I lived there.
At the moment, the real problem facing Germany and the rest of Europe, is how to deal with the massive influx of refugees and immigrants that continue to land on their shores -- creating a social situation which is directly related to the nascent nationalism and xenophobia now being seen across the continent.
Of course, Mr. Putin could only benefit from any dissension sown during European elections, because that is how he best operates, but that doesn't necessarily mean all these right-wing groups are all pro-Putin.
The thing about nationalism is that it works best on its own soil, and you don't have to look any further than Donald Trump in the U.S.A. to realize that.
5
The history of Greece is quite different from the histories of Italy, England, the United States, Turkey, and Hungary. It’s unlikely that many of these nations have granted power to far-right political parties recently because they’ve all been hypnotized by Putin’s focused, skinny rattlesnake gaze. More likely, many voters in each country are pulled by patriotism, nativism, and an understandable fear that floods of immigrants will render England not-English, Italy not fully Italian, Austria not Austrian, and so forth. Far-right political parties are certainly, often, led by dictatorial strongmen hungry for more power, who resemble Putin (and Trump). But they’re supported by self-appointed patriots who don’t want to be governed by bureaucrats in Brussels. These citizens do not choose to be members of a global New World Order (dominated, in the EU, by Germany, which has a dark history of seeking domination). They want their country back.
7
Interesting that both far-right and far-left parties like Putin. That meddling is able to target both and build them up.
I've read that many Russians admire Putin for being a strong leader. He's been very good at exploiting nationalism and nostalgia for the past. If the Russian economy isn't what people wish it to be, at least Putin can play to their sense of pride. Donald Trump did something very similar here in the USA.
Compare that to those "feckless and pallid" European leaders.
3
Remind me which far left parties like Putin?
One emphatic point, Mr. Stephens, as regards the proper functioning of democratic states is that when these governments function well their leaders should become largely forgotten, as time passes. It is our institutions that have been nourished properly during periods of good governance, and that take and hold center stage. Figures such as Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Churchill remain as outsized, democratic personalities not because they knew how to "pull a trigger" but because they led, heroically, during times of acute crisis, when democracy itself was under siege. The notion that the West must confront Putin in personal terms, in accordance with his own gangster tactics, is a shallow and dangerous one. Obama has already faded from the public imagination and for all of the right reasons; Trump, on the other hand, and for all of the wrong reasons, may hang around for awhile, emitting his toxic odors after his circus has packed up and left town.
63
"He’s exciting in the way of a tiger pouncing on prey. So long as he’s allowed to pounce he’ll continue to win new admirers and future elections, not just his own."
Putin and Putinism reminds me of the termites feeding on and destroying the structure they've invaded.
You have the outward and obvious figurehead--poisonings and all-- and then you have his hidden burrowing into democratic societies-- election meddling, cyberattacks on power plants, and God knows what else.
The striking thing for me about Putinsm is how ideology-free it is. Nobody is praising the reign of kleptocrats and oligarchs--it's just happening as a display of raw power.
At least in the Soviet era there was an explicit choice between freedom and Communism. Putin--and increasingly our own feckless leader, a man without the smarts of Putin, just the sadism--is simply the head of a crime syndicate based on money and corruption.
His war against the west is succeeding because the west can't galvanize itself against an ideology-free war. The "president" for life of Russia has built a cult of personality, as many countries are looking for strongmen of their own.
It's easier to fight an idea than a Mafia don.
54
There is no such thing as Euro-Putinism.
On this side of the Atlantic there is a geopolitical entity called EurAsia where Europe is bound with Russia, a nuclear power with the political status of WWII winner. Russian financial funds fill the safes of London banks and Russian industrial imports enrich most of the EU states' economies.
The European states have seen the Russians leaving the occupied Eastern Europe countries and remaining within their borders till now, with the exceptions of interventions to keep an area of influence along their borders.
Finally, the Europeans have seen the NATO military advancing eastward against Russia, notwithstanding a gentleman's agreement USA and Russia concluded on the contrary.
The reality is that nearly all the European States are firm and loyal NATO allies. They are ready to stand up with the USA till the latter will show envy to keep its role of benign hegemony with world power and help them with military security.
If Mr. Stephens would try a deeper look at the European situation, maybe he would see the British chemical agent attack, though a real issue, as a substantial mass distraction from the too many real British problems, like the dramatic Brexit.
4
Indeed. The EU has managed to expand into the former Warsaw Pact countries on Putin's watch. Apart from the Crimea setback, it has been an overwhelming success. Europe does not need any lessons from the US.
Trade is what keeps the relationship between Europe and Russia stable and communication channels open, more so than NATO and Russian troops staring each other down on the Balkan borders. Buying Russian energy is a much smarter strategy than doubling military budgets to US levels (even though the EU should increase its budget to 2%). It's tragic to see the US losing its soft power and retreating from free trade.
8
Many people, not all, are tired of the drift since 1989 punctuated only by endless wars in the Middle East and a long-lasting recession since 2008 where most of the benefits of recovery have gone to the wealthy. Those who act or at least promise to do so with simple remedies like punishing an out-group, get attention, those who have presided over the mess for the last 30 years and promise only more of the same get repudiated.
5
What is striking about the Putin phenomenon is that he is allied with political forces of the extreme right and the extreme left. The common denominator between the two is power. Extremists worship power. They want to achieve an agenda and they don't care how they achieve it. That's why they flock to the authoritarian, the dictator.
In both cases, individual rights and especially the rights of the minority are thrown away. The individual exists to serve the state.
Trump just feeds into this scenario. Trump has created a vacuum for minority rights, and I don't just mean ethnic minorities. I mean political minorities. Whomever, whatever is in charge gets to call the shots.
Power abhors a vacuum. When power sees a vacuum, it fills it to gain even more power and control. Power is never satisfied with the status quo. It always wants more power.
Trump has not only abdicated the US traditional role of championing minority rights, he encourages the application of power of the authoritarian. But why is this so popular? Why do people flock to the authoritarian at the expense of freedom and liberty?
The answer is that the authoritarian is the modern day tribal chief. Most people want to be ruled. They are drawn to the powerful. They want someone in control. That's why they like Putin. He makes things happen without letting silly little things like freedom and rights get in the way.
33
Great insights. Add to that a recent poll of younger people in the US which showed that a very substantial number of them do not feel that our democratic system is essential.
3
The True Believer by Hoffer and Escape from Freedom by Fromm were required reading for students when my children were in high school. Those authors give good examples of why people want to give up their freedoms to an authoritarian presence. They should be on the required reading lists of every high school or college student.
9
Here in the US the Democrats are exulting in the victory of a congressional candidate who repudiated the party's leaders, adopted positions closer to the opposition than to the party on major issues . . . and proved to be attractive to voters.
What's happening in Italy, Austria, Germany, Britain and Pennsylvania has nothing to do with Putin. The people who have been ignored and ill served for 35 years by the establishment parties are turning to alternative parties hoping that just maybe THOSE parties will value them and help them.
There IS a Russia factor at work here, or rather a USSR factor: it was the collapse of the USSR, the "triumph" of laissez faire, borderless capitalism, that set the elites free to return to the predatory, extractive version of capitalism they'd practiced before the Progressive Era and the New Deal.
There is NO reaction against the establishment in countries that still practice socially responsible capitalism (mixed economies). In Canada, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Nederland, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand people are perfectly happy with the way things are.
We are NOT happy here because we don't do things the way they do them in places where people are happy. We don't need Putinism to replace Davosism. We need Scandinavianism.
145
Ya gotta love the Euro bashing and sly words Mr. Stephens uses to absolve the Republican administration (yes, this is a Republican one, not just a Trump one) of aiding and abetting Putin. KGB level clever to insert the words "so far" to not only make it appear that Trump might actually take any action other than bluster against Russia, but even more clever to shift from actually colluding with Putin to some fantasy future against him.
Blaming European leaders while giving our Comrade in Chief a pass is exactly what the Putin regime would do to further undermine European democracies.
12
Mr. Stephens, you simply don't understand: The right wing successes in Europe are reactions to decades of subservience to the U.S. by their established political elites.
Unlike their spineless politicians, who studiously avoided rocking the boat, European citizens and corporations became fed up with being ordered around, insulted, humiliated and even blackmailed (yes, OFAC/Treasury) by a waning super-power, so they are taking matters into their own hands.
U.S. wanton belligerence and general scare-mongering have been a key factor: The U.S. has invaded and bombed nations thousands of miles away, and the human mess has wound up, metaphorically and literally, on Europe's shores. Europeans are dependent on Russian gas, so they have to reach accommodation even as the U.S. continues baiting the Big Bear and endangering Europe's security by encouraging a renewed arms race.
And now you have Trump, the most vile example of U.S. 'leadership', reinforcing the general European view that the U.S. has gone mad. Are you surprised the Europeans are breaking with the past and forging the independent path on which their survival depends? You write:
"A joint statement has been issued by Britain, France, Germany and the U.S. calling on Russia to 'live up to its responsibilities to 'uphold international peace and security'. "
If the U.S. hadn't killed one million innocent citizens this century alone, maybe Europeans wouldn't object to such hypocritical 'joint statements' condemning Russia.
5
Every one of us should be alarmed by this incredibly bellicose rhetoric coming from a major US paper with an international reputation on the heels of a UN summit that was specifically targeted at Putin. I'm far from a Putin sympathizer, but I'm more afraid of the consequences of a war fought between nuclear powers than I am the rise of global Putinism. Frankly, the Times needs to take a closer look at what's driving the push to the right and left across the US and Europe. If they did, they would see a bleak picture of poverty amid cut backs to strong welfare institutions--rising unemployment commiserate with those cuts. Hungary, The US, Greece, Italy, and Russia all fall within that purview. It's not Putin rising from the depths, it's the consequences of decades of poor decisions made by policy makers and politicians. Putin is a horrible leader, and now he's also a scapegoat. The Times and our elected officials in the US must exercise caution. This article is a prime example of throwing it to the wind.
11
You do realize that this is an opinion column, not an article, no?
There are plenty of news sources that present a single lockstep position on all issues, whether article or op-ed. I don't object to seeing conservative opinions expressed here, even if they occasionally make me grind my teeth.
Your argument about the 'nerve agent' in Salisbury is a logical fallacy. The development of a chemical by one party does not mean that others skilled in chemistry cannot manufacture the agent. In this case the agents were supposedly specifically designed to use common pesticide and fertiliser chemicals as starting materials.
Thus your assertion that only Russia can be responsible is a fallacy.
6
Sorry to say, but Putin is partially succeeding because America has made some horrrible decisions. Invading Iraq under false pretenses, coming up with the Wall Street financial wizardry that caused the Great Recession, the election of Donald Trump. We are not leading by example and he is taking advantage of that.
58
Putin is ruthless. He will stop at nothing to stop his internal opposition or to realize his global designs, particularly in Eastern Europe. Then there is the non military means of interfering in other countries' elections...
No, leaders like Merkel, Cameron and Sarkozy didn't strike terror in anyone's being the way Putin does, but that's because they're not dictators.
Putin also knows how to manipulate patriotism. He fabricates outside threats and plays on nationalistic pride. His career took off during the Cold War, and he retained political lessons along with the dark tricks of the trade from the KGB.
It also rings hollow that Putin stands for anything substantial. He calls himself a Christian leader but he's just a cold blooded killer.
2
Deep western thinkers are sweating desperately when trying to decode the mystery of Vladimir Putin's enormous domestic popularity, which is without comparison. When all they need to do is ask an ordinary Russian.
In the 1990s the capitalist "revolution" in Russian was monitored by a handful of US economists, resulting in one of the worst social catastrophes in peacetime, ever. The economy was crushed, people starved, and ten million died, while a few apparatchiks were allowed to steal everything of value (the oligarchs in Russia were in effect created by the US). In the West we've chosen not to learn anything about that horror, but the Russians don't forget.
After that disastrous decade Putin came to power, regained some of the stolen wealth and resurrected the wreck (with the help of soaring oil prizes). That's when he gained his popularity, and - surprise! - Russians remember that.
Stephens makes a big point from Putin's friendship with dubious political movements. (It's tempting to become impertinent and remind him of all the murderous tyrants US has supported through the years, and even installed.) Given the unparalleled demonizing of Russia and Putin by all "decent" actors it's not too surprising that a few friendly parties are at least treated friendly in response.
The deadly threat posed by the senseless demonizing of Russia is that it takes us step by step closer to the next world war, and that will be the final achievement by the human species.
9
'To pull a trigger'.
I fear that we have attained the point when politicians no longer fear the long term consequences of warfare to advance their policies and stoke their egos.
Citizens' reverent fear of bloodshed, exemplified by annual memorials to commemorate the First and Second World Wars , is no longer a source of inhibition towards engaging in mindless and destructive wars.
Everything in today's corrupt social climate points to a gradual conditioning of Western population of the inevitability of a very hot war. It is as if the whole business of governing a country during peacetime with 'prosaic' problems such as pension reform or education funding are simply too 'boring' for today's sensation-seeking breed of new politicans of every stripe.
6
Making an argument (even an interesting one) does not justify making stuff up.
Trump second place? Spoiler alert, he won.
Merkel will be remembered.
Cameron did arguably, “pull a trigger” for self-preservation.
Sarkozy, for his many faults, feckless? Of all people?
You can’t complain about Trump’s lies, and emulate them whenever you please.
3
Mr. Stephens you are letting about 60 million Americans off the hook.
Much of Putin's strength effectively comes from the Trump base in the American electorate and the Republican congressional leadership who are complicit in supporting a compromised President who is unwilling to constrain Putin and his kleptocracy's attack on democracy.
All for what? A tax cut for the wealthy and judges for the intolerant?
33
Radical environmentalists, really, the world should worry about Green Peace?
The US needs to rebel against it's mini-Putin and get back to promoting democracy, however flawed the messenger.
Failure is not an option in these dangerous times.
5
Stephens: "Compare that to the last decade or so of European leaders: David Cameron, Matteo Renzi, Nicolas Sarkozy, Jean-Claude Juncker, even Angela Merkel. What did any of them stand for?"
Why "the last decade or so"? Why not ask that about EVERY European leader since the fall of the Soviet Union? Or since the end of WWII?
Stephens: "Who among them would pull a trigger for their country’s preservation — or even for their own?"
That's a dangerous metaphor, because Stephens seems to be advocating retaliation in kind.
"How many of them will be remembered in 20 years’ time?"
They will all "be remembered" for as long as there are history books.
3
All of the political parties in Europe that you mention have another thing in common. They are all sick and tired of the neoliberal and neoconservative approach to 'democracy' that you and your colleagues espouse. The dissent in Europe is a result of this approach which ignores the bulk of the population in favour of the arrogance and elitism of the 1%.
2
bunch of nonsense -- villains vs good guys. Putin is a nationalist and not a villain from Hollywood movie. Same with Trump and others. Neo-liberal order of so-called experts without Skin in the Game has failed. Putin and Trump do have a Skin in the Game.
6
In the last few years, there have been several incidents reported in mainstream press of Russian jets penetrating UK airspace and Russian submarines and battleships testing the boundaries of the UK's territorial waters. The UK has done essentially nothing in response. How has Putin interpreted this? Do last week's brazen acts of assassination give an indication? Certainly military conflict couldn't be on the horizon, right? Sweden, in response to Russian buildup near the Baltics, has begun to shore up defenses on its eastern border islands. Seems the Swedes are taking Russia's increased assertiveness seriously enough to commit resources to a response.
4
What did the powers that be - the EU, our own parties, Germany and the British leadership - think would happen when they failed to address the loss that the meltdown in 2008 coupled with both globalization and the march of automation has brought to a vast number of ordinary people?
When Europe went on an austerity binge, they lost the southern tier of the EU, which suffered the greatest. Britain, just like the rust belt here, has seen the loss of stable manufacturing jobs, as has most of the rest of Europe? I remember being able to buy china made in Britain, crystal made in Waterford, glasses made in Finland, tables made in Norway. Who's making all that now?
Add the impact of conflict and drought driving migration, and you have a formula for revolt. Last time, in the 30's they went Communist, then Fascist. This time? Straight to authoritarianism. Someone has to be able to fix this. And Putin has shown himself to be an action kind of a guy.
Look to really addressing the problems of people who have no future. Ask what the carpenters who built furniture in Carolina and the metal workers in Detroit, and the accountants everywhere are supposed to be doing.
If we solve that fundamental problem, we will avoid the attraction of authoritarianism. IF we don't? We are in for a bundle of trouble.
21
If the carpenters in Carolina stop voting single issue platform, like guns and abortion, they may have a shot of having investments in their areas....
One of the delusions they have is that the next tax cut for the rich will do the trick for them.
1
You forget to mention the likes of Wilders in the Netherlands and Le Pen in France. The latter has definitely received money from Russia, on Wilders the jury is out. With regards to Wilders, he receives a lot of support, both financial and moral, from prominent US (Trump) conservatives. These conservatives may or may not know that Mr. Wilders thinks that the Dutch parliament, in which he has happily taken a seat for many years, is fake but that he quite happily makes a speech to that paragon of democratic bodies the Russian Duma, as he did a few weeks ago. Mr. Wilders is in favour of democracy in the way Trump and his supporters are in favour of democracy, as long as they win then it is fine, as soon as they lose then it is rigged and fake. I therefore think that it is not just Euro-Putinism which is on the rise but so is US-Putinism and in fact I suspect that it has a direct line into the White House. Was there active collision between Trump and the Russians during the last election, I doubt it as that would suggest a level of strategic thinking and skill which Trump does not possess. Do the Russians have very, very significant influence on the Trump, absolutely. In practical terms the Russians own a very, very significant stake Trump's business and in fact represent the difference between it existing and going bankrupt. Even more worryingly is that many of Trump's conservative supporters actively work with Putin and that is where the collusion sits.
3
Putin is a conservative who believes in power, particularly the power of money, and in government legitimacy as essentially a product of advertising and image building, or in other words a good sales pitch. His power over the rich comes from his power over their money, and his power over everyone else rests on his image. He is a czar.
Democracy is not conservative. It rests on the idea that people can and should be trained to see through sales pitches and thereby recognize and further their interests. When sales pitches work, it becomes a hollow shell and an illusion, as illustrated by the Republican Party since St. Ronnie.
39
Dictators, especially popular ones such as Putin, will push the envelope until their actions engender unacceptable consequences for them. It is time America and its allies made that happen.
However, political murder is merely retail. What we really need to worry about are internet attacks. Americans work on the dubious assumption that something can be done electronically to prevent such attacks. To the contrary, every bit of evidence indicates that the only real solution is to isolate our critical systems from the internet. We went to war in Iraq over phony claims of weapons of mass destruction. What happens when an enemy is able to take over targeting or launch control of our own very real WMDs?
Even as the unavoidable vulnerability of the internet becomes more and more apparent, we wallow in greater connectivity, endangering not merely our bank accounts, privacy, and personal security but, more importantly, the security of our infrastructure, productive capacity, and government communications, as well as the military's command and control. It is one thing for individuals to choose to live in self-delusion, pretending they are not trading their privacy and security for the "joys" of Facebook, Google, and their iPhones. It is an entirely different matter when a society engages in such self-delusion.
On this and on autocratic political challenges we need leaders to be real leaders, because the way things stand now, Western leaders are like deer caught in headlights.
15
I just don't understand this rush to electronic balloting. Why, why, why?! It's totally vulnerable to hacking and I'm sure the purveyors of this equipment are rich 1 percenters with right wing leanings just waiting fot the chance to use built-in backdoors, probably in support of Putin-sanctioned authoritarian entities.
Here in Los Angeles, we still use paper balloting. I've worked the last three elections at my local precinct and the system worked fine. No way to hack millions of paper ballots hand counted by local citizens.
1
We, the United States, have enjoyed the status of being the world's only superpower since the end of World War II due to that war's devastation. This was never going to last forever, being that the rest of the world was going to eventually recover. I feel that I have personally been the beneficiary of this superpower status, and I feel some personal insecurity about facing a new, multi-polar world where we might lose our reserve currency status and suffer a decline in our standard of living.
But we can and should adjust. By rolling back our military adventures, we can redirect our wealth so that it directly benefits us. We have more than enough nuclear weapons already in our arsenal to assure the safety of our island continent.
I have to think that the current bipartisan frenzy to paint a black and white, good vs. evil picture, with Putin as the source of all evil and the United States as the source of all good, and with the media falling dutifully in line, is a response to this insecurity.
This is a very dangerous time. How we adjust to the inevitable, new multi-polar world is critically important.
We have a choice. We can go down the current role, and hysterically blaming Russia and/or China and perhaps even going to war, or we can deal with the challenge in a constructive and adult fashion by redirecting our resources to improve our own economy, industry and human resources so that we can better compete in this new multi-polar world.
32
Actually we really do have to deal with the consequences of the meddling of what Putin did because he helped INSTALL OUR PRESIDENT INTO OFFICE. He did not do this because he loves the United States so much. Case in point Trump is doing the opposite of everything you say we need to do. I'm not saying the United States is always good by any means but the institutions that made us good are being quickly eroded as Putin's pick for our president installs one unqualified corrupt lying replica of himself in his cabinet. The issue of what Russia has done, continues to do is a dead serious issue and nothing you care about will get done until we get their heavily compromised criminal stooges out of our Whitehouse.
The big picture is that Britain and the EU need to rethink Brexit. If it's too much immigration, they can fix that by repossessing the Russian money laundering and limiting Arab immigration--popular moves--while adjusting overall immigration inside the EU including Britain. Most U.K. immigration is probably from Commonwealth countries anyway, and Britain should work on embracing the diversity that this represents. This out of the way, the big problem is Putin/Trump right wing regimes. It's no longer that the the EU technocrats exercise power removed from democracy of the members, but that some of the members are eschewing democracy. Membership criteria should be strict here. (But the problems in Greece were brought on mostly by the EU's draconian actions, brought on by German bankers failing to do due diligence on their loans.)
On the election in Russia, Putin will not have to have his soldiers stand behind voters with guns, as he did in Crimea, because he owns the voting machines. Our own voting machines still lack a paper trail, and who knows if the Russians can't hack the computer tabulating process as well as the voter roles.The Republicans seem to want to aid them in this. And if we ever get serious with a carbon tax to fight climate change (towards zero emissions,which is possible), we will have lots of surplus oil to send the Europeans, if they need it.
The bigger picture is that both the Russian and American governments are now controlled by oil oligarchs.
6
Not all places use electronic voting. Los Angeles is totally paper ballots. I've now worked 3 elections with these ballots and they still work fine. In fact, a quick search shows quite a few states still use paper. The machines should be dumped and all voting should be paper or by mail as in Oregon and Washington. It's now just too risky otherwise. Everything that works doesn't need to be changed.
2
I find the reference to limiting 'Arab' immigration cruel. 2,5 million Iraqi's have died since the ill advised Bush adventure, and the present Syrian civil war is a direct result of that invasion. Of course millions are trying to get out. The US refuses to take any in, so what is Europe supposed to do? Follow your honorable example?
1
Putin is former KGB and he's playing the long game. With the rest of the western world weakened after the recession and the US over extended with all of our senseless wars he sees opportunities that weren't there a decade ago. He knows that none of his cold war enemies are in a position to challenge him and he's using our weakness to his full advantage.
We're starting to see the rise of the authoritarian strongman because economic inequality has made us vulnerable to their promise to make everything better. Unregulated capitalism is bad for democracy. People that are financially stable are a lot less likely to heed the siren call of authoritarianism and a lot more difficult to divide based on our differences.
34
But if they listen to the call of authoritarianism they realize that these "strongmen" are only in in for themselves. Their lives wont get better but by then it will be too late to protest.
1
" With ... the US over extended with all of our senseless wars ..."
If you have a smart exit strategy, say so, instead of carping.
This is the biggest head shaker. None of these men have any history of working for the poor or struggling. All are super rich with long histories of worker abuses. How can anyone think these men care about their miserable lives in some failing village of a closed coal mine? Voting strongman never ends well. Just look at history, littered with destroyed landscapes in the aftermath of strong man after strong man.
1
When people are given a choice, and choose Putin, it may be that they really, really don't like the other choice. They may well have good reasons to so strongly dislike the other choice.
Consider that and look at the condition of Italy. What is there to like and approve? Not much that could be credited to its political leadership.
Putin does not happen in a vacuum.
In Russia he happened after Yeltsin, when the major alternative was Stalin (Stalinists). Of course he won, and with those choices remains popular in Russia.
In the Euro-zone, people were unhappy about real things, unemployment without hope, inequality and getting worse, corruption embedded deep in those politicians in power (Greece and Italy prominent there).
Putin. Putin. He's coming. How could they? Well, answer the question instead of hand wringing panic. How could they? Look to the log in your own eye.
Want to stop Putin? Do better yourself. Offer better. No, what has been on offer was not good enough. That's how you got this problem. Name calling won't help.
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Putin actually did happen in a vacuum. He was created in a power vacuum.
Veddy interesting, but prejudice is showing.
Jeremy Corbyn is not weak. Several others are stalwart. Renzi was good but unwise. Macron seems to be doing well. I suspect Merkel will be remembered. Trump's backwash just might put the US on the path back to civilization and caring for each other.
On the other hand, it's quite possible earth itself will be in real trouble in 20 years, a denouement your flirtation with luckwarmers will not have helped.
But the varieties of evil are interesting. You're clearer on Putin than most people. I've been thinking about Trump in the context of classic evil. Putin's hard evil is a contrast to Trump's soft shallow evil.
I recognized in Trump a resemblance to the villain of a favorite thriller by Margery Allingham "The Tiger in the Smoke" (1952, set during the infamous 1951 killer London fog). It's a page turner, but in my opinion, develops a terrific confrontation between good and evil along the way. Two main characters are a saintly canon (C of E) who's hardly safe out and the villain who has taken the short path to success but abdicated any claim to a soul. The canon identifies in the villain a dedication not just to casual but deep evil, which reminded me of Trump. His easy success is haunted by coincidence which helps him to hurt and harm and destruction.
So: Paradise Lost: "evil, be thou my good"
Virgil's Aeneid: "the road to death is easy" ("fascilis descensus Averno")
and, of course Faust.
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The mistake is portraying it as a fight between authoritarianism and democracy. It's a fight between eroding, neoliberal democracy and oligarchic, authoritarianism. Western "democratic" leaders have been either unable or unwilling to challenge the neoliberal economic orthodoxy of letting markets decide policy, which is hollowing out the middle class and leading to increasing economic polarization. The rich become richer and accumulate more power over these political elites, and the elites benefit from a revolving door where they make out pretty well after leaving government, often going to work for the same people who funded their campaigns. In their bubbles, they become increasingly divorced from the miserable situation of so many of their fellow citizens and convince themselves that they are on the side of reason, lamenting Putin's rise as somehow disconnected from these socioeconomic dynamics. Putin is just the most extreme, shameless, and ruthless example of a political elite using corruption, control, and a market economy to become enormously wealthy.
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Very well put. Agree 100%.
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Excellent. Should be mandatory reading for newspaper journalists & opinion columnists.
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I would add that belief in democracy is eroding and democratic governments are becoming increasingly ineffectual in the West, precisely because the marriage between right wing free market zealots and left wing proponents of unbridled neoliberalism have combined to encourage these to happen- some wittingly and some not.
And in the US, the populist movement plays right into their hands, because of their hatred of liberalism and their denigration of government.
Democratic government, *working as it should,* not as it is, is the only institution powerful enough to reign in corporate, oligarch, and dictatorial power. All the populists are doing (again, some of them wittingly and some not) are destroying the institutions and ideals that are their best tools to preserve and enhance their own power and stem the power of those who are weakening it.
And the Putins of the world are loving it.
After spiriting billions of dollars belonging to the Russian people out of the country and into his own off-shore accounts, Putin has become the world's richest man. And money can buy power, influence, murder enemies without consequence, and fund a more strategic kind of tactical warfare against Western countries. Including successful cyber penetration into America's voting process, nuclear systems, and utility infrastructure, no less!! With his enablers abroad, Putin has seeded divisions, sowed lies and discord, and gleefully destabilized alliances. In Trump's case, he invested in and bought himself a useful idiot. And Republicans in Congress champing at the bit to gain control after 8 years--have become Putin's helpful proxies; behaving like teenagers drinking their parents liquor and hoping no one will no notice the shambles they are leaving the government in. Putin has played a dominate hand all along and Trump's pomposity makes him think he's in charge.
http://time.com/money/4641093/vladimir-putin-net-worth/
Is that Ms. Veselnitskaya of Donald Trump Jr.'s Trump Tower meeting in the left of Putin in the photo; nice bangs!
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ARcticwolf below says
"One could argue that Putin is the consequence of the West treating the post Soviet Russia of Yeltsin as Wiemar Russia; ..."
I certainly agree and worse yet, whatever moderate forces remained when Putin took power were weakened by the constant encroachments on Russian security.
After Stalin died, there appeared to be adequate political firewalls against a repeat of absolute personal despotism. The only real threat that I can remember was Andropov who died prematurely.
Slowly but surely, Putin has used the incompetence of the West to debilitate his domestic opposition and create a political environment in which he can increasingly act without fear of reprisal.
It's one thing to start a fight, another to finish it. I suppose that moral is easily forgotten in the mob hubris of a fantastical concept of "unipolar superpower" which was so advantageous for Wall Street's 3 month S&P forecasts.
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Putin plays a mean game of chess while leaders of other nations seem oblivious that a game is being played. As one example, he has helped precipitate the migration of hundreds of thousands of Muslim, mostly Syrian people, mostly men, to Western Europe, causing political and social destabilization, while at the same precipitating human, cultural and civic destruction, degradation and adjective poverty in Syria on a monumental scale. And another: He provided "enemy" coordinates that caused us to destroy a hospital and its inhabitants, then strafed the humanitarian relief convoy we send days later. This is a player with not only vile intentions, but the will and capacity to have them carried out.
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"[Putin] has helped precipitate the migration of hundreds of thousands of Muslim, mostly Syrian people, mostly men, to Western Europe"
No, that was the Western forces that destroyed the homes of those people made refugees. That was the regime change fiasco. You can't blame it on Putin. He was just the beneficiary of our foolish adventure that blew up in our face.
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The movement of migrants to Western Europe was a deliberate policy of Turkey to extract financial contributions and political concessions from Europe. Nothing to do with Putin.
Your views on Syria ignore the massive funding and arming of jihadis by the USA and it allies - the only real cause of the Syrian conflict. The USA does not need anyone's help to murder civilians.
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Concerns about that migration have been exploited by politicians in Europe and here in the USA. I would only quibble by saying it's not just Syria and it's not just the war.
If the USA fails to recognize that violence, drought and political repression will drive people to leave their homes to find relief, and if the USA fails to do anything to counter the suffering, we will reap the consequences. Donald Trump here and Vladimir Putin in Russia aren't the only politicians who will seize the opportunity.
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The world is gradually shifting to an era of strongmen ruling nations.In fact,democratic countries are becoming more autocratic-same leader continuing,family members taking the grip of party and likewise.Democracy perhaps has never been a reality to many nations.The solution or remedy or alternative lies with no one.But,a truth to be lived with.
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I recently reread my copy of The End of History by Francis Fukuyama. Suffice it to say, it now appears most dated and naive twenty-five years after its publication. The world has certainly changed since the early 90's. On could argue that Putin is the consequence of the West treating the post Soviet Russia of Yeltsin as Wiemar Russia; one could argue that Brexit was inevitable when British resentment over German economic hegemony in Europe resurfaced; one could argue that Trump signifies the denouement of the Reagan Era of American history, even while he espouses most of what said era represents.
The triumph of liberal democracy seems less certain in 2018, partly because Fukuyama`s view was governed by the view that the 20th century was a prolonged ideological struggle, ending with the quietus of the former Soviet Union. Putin`s current success possibly derives from the fact he faces a West still rooted in 20th century ideas---the EU, for instance, is a response to Europe enduring two world wars. While there`s nothing novel about Putin embracing power for its own sake, he does so in a vacuum, an era devoid of challenges. He`s actually not powerful, but wins by default.
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"On could argue [various things]"
Since you didn't "argue" anything, what is your point?
My point is that people in Western Europe and the USA should acknowledge a large amount of culpability in aiding the rise of Putin. In addition, we further enable him through our inaction.
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