Do you remember just a few months back, when the Russians recklessly shot down one of their own satellites? As politicians and international diplomats decried the anti-satellite mission for hazarding the global satellite network and the International Space Station, it was easy to ignore the even more dangerous activity of a resurgent Russia.
Activity such as their growing efforts to align themselves with other antagonists of the West – notably Iran and China. You may have missed that, just last week, those three nations began an expansive series of trilateral naval exercises. Those maneuvers happen to be the third such exercise they’ve coordinated since 2019.
Or, their increasing assertions over territorial rights in the North Sea – a strategic positioning to gain unilateral control over shipping lanes of growing importance. You see, those waterways are becoming more regularly available due to global climate change and a resulting extended shipping season where those waters become navigable.
By extending their territorial rights closer to the arctic circle, they’ll be laying claim to massive oil and natural gas stores. Concurrently, they’ll be able to turn vast tracts of underutilized land into cultivated crop land – land that can now be serviced by new sea ports in the north. Oh and by the way, they’re offering their citizenry subsidies to move to these new lands in Siberia because they know the labor need they’ll create.
Yes, you read that right, global climate change is tilting an advantage to Russia’s favor – and they’re taking action to not miss the advantage. No wonder they are so eager to grow European dependence on Russian natural gas. Gas that will be more readily supplied via pipelines though Ukraine.
Russia seems to be playing a game of relative power and positioning – while also signaling to the world that their brute force can blunt the technological advantages of the west.
Now is a Time for American Leadership, and International Partnership
And there’s been no better time for them to do so. Successive Presidents now have inclined our foreign policy toward isolationism. Sure, we had carried on the conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but in that same span, our allies in Europe and much of the rest of the world were left wondering when we’d start waking up to the existential threats posed by the likes of both Russia and China.
Whether we like it or not, American exceptionalism is built in large measure on our willingness to do what others can’t or won’t.
That means from time to time, we have to gather the nations of the West and stand firm against the aggressors of the world. It can’t only ever be economic sanctions. Sometimes, that’s too little too late – especially economies on the scale of Russia and China. As America continues to pull back – under Presidents of both parties – these two will continue to work toward expanding their spheres of influence.
I’d recommend three books to both challenge you and broaden your view on the playing field of international politics – one of which is referenced on the Bookshelf. Sam Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations as well as Henry Kissinger’s World Order and On China. Each of these has helped me look at our national approach to foreign policy differently over the years. Each is well worth a read if you want to stretch yourself.
But for now, my simple takeaway is this: Politics should end at the water’s edge – and our ideals should shine into every dark place around the globe. We simply cannot afford the isolationism that so many embrace. When we do, the consequences are clear and proven time and time again. The latest dust-up is about more than Ukraine – it’s about our willingness to live up to the greatness we claim.
Part of the Possible 