Many Americans tend to frame foreign policy debates according to Western standards. They assume the other side sees events just like Americans. They imagine key figures are motivated by the same passions and ambitions that Westerners might pursue. It is hard to think outside the Western box that has dominated world history for so long.
Such assumptions can be dangerous, especially in times of war and conflict. The key to victory comes from understanding the adversary, not putting him inside an artificial framework. This is particularly true when considering Russia and the war in Ukraine.
Thinking Outside the Box
In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, former Soviet dissident Yuri Yarim-Agaev sets the record straight about how the other side thinks. He asserts that those living under ideological regimes like Russia have a vastly different mentality. The West ignores this fact to its own peril.
Thus, the standard Western narrative about Vladimir Putin is that he does anything he wants so that he might hold and consolidate power. What motivates him and those like him is the desire to feed an immense ego, amass great wealth and exercise control over his people.
Mr. Yarim-Agaev disagrees with this assessment. He is well suited to interpret Russian affairs. As a former Soviet dissident and an exile living in the West, he knows Russian reality and Western error when perceiving it.
A Proxy War Targeting America
He believes the key to understanding Putin and his war in Ukraine is to look at the ideologies behind the personalities and events.
Thus, his interpretation of the war in Ukraine is framed according to this ideological mindset. The 75-year-old exile says that the war has nothing to do with security concerns or old Russian territorial claims on Ukraine.
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The real war is not between Russia and Ukraine but a proxy contest. “It is first and foremost a war against America,” he affirms. “Putin’s aggression is for one and only one reason: Ukraine shows [a] democratic way of development and pro-Western way, pro-American way, and becoming [an] ally with America and the West.”
Priests and Servants of Ideology
Likewise, he explains that what motivates Putin to stay in power is not an ambitious desire to exercise control. Mr. Yarim-Agaev explains, “In [a] totalitarian country, individual leaders don’t rule. Ideology rules . . . Stalin, Mao, they never had power. They were always first priests and servants of ideology, and they couldn’t deviate from that ideology.”
Any leaders like Putin or Xi Jinping who act contrary to the demands of their ideology commit political suicide. To stay in power, such leaders must slavishly serve the national ideology and disregard their personal ambitions.
Mr. Yarim-Agaev warns that the West has the illusion that its policy should consist of charming, making concessions to and developing friendships with these leaders. These leaders are dedicated to doing whatever is needed to serve their ideologies. An effective strategy must combat these ideologies in motion. Any appeasement will always end in defeat.
A Hybrid Ideology Targeting America
In the present world scenario, the threatening ideologies vary. The present Russian regime, for example, does not operate exactly as the Soviet communists did. However, it follows a hybrid ideology heavily influenced by Aleksandr Dugin in his book, The Fourth Political Theory. His theory mixes communism, nationalism, and other elements.
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He envisions ideological blocs of nations forming a new multi-polar world headed by Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, Sunni Islam and other countries. Ironically, his anti-Western philosophy is based on Western philosophers like Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche and Julius Evola.
China, Iran and North Korea follow ideologies that add classical Marxist and Islamist themes. However, all these regimes are undergirded by an anti-Americanism that unites the parties as one.
Peace Through Strength
Mr. Yarim-Agaev believes the only way to overcome these ideological adversaries is to pursue peace through strength, never weakness or concession.
He affirms that, given America’s military might, Russia and its allies will avoid a direct clash with the United States at all costs. “They fight against America but always fight through somebody else.”
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If America abandons Ukraine, it will send a message of surrender and weakness. People need to see that what motivates Putin and his war is not ambition but an ideological worldview that aims to destroy the West via America. It cannot be appeased or conceded away. It will only encourage further aggression. As Mr. Yarim-Agaev concludes, “You cannot implement a policy of peace through strength by losing wars.”
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