Do Americans Have A Stake in Ukraine?
Who knew? It’s about white supremacy and white nationalism
When the 45th President was elected in 2016, way over in Russia, some political players and observers were jubilant. One of those was a philosopher and Russian academic named, Aleksandr Dugin.
Dugin was not only joyous but many say he has Vladimir Putin’s ear (from a distance perhaps) so Putin, likewise was probably happy. Dugin has been called “Putin’s Brain” by various journalists. Here’s what he posted right after the 45th President was elected to office if you doubt the reports:
Dugin is pro-Russia, anti-West, anti-democratic, and a white nationalist. He is opposed to globalism and U.S. hegemony.
Dugin is the Russian version basically of an arch, far-right conservative. In his most famous book, Foundations of Geopolitics, he says Russia’s goal is to rule over Europe from Dublin to Vladivostok. That is basically all of Europe if you are wondering. Dugin calls this Euro-Russia or Eurasia.
At a 2006, far-right conference in Moscow, Dugin had a great influence on the attendees and the subject matter of the conference. As one presenter at the conference noted:
“If the White race is able to overcome depopulation and unite in one large community, then it will be able to work wonders, conquering oceans and the depths of outer space” (Hoffmeister, 93).
The attendees of the conference made it even more clear in the declarations to end the conference by stating that one of their goals was — “to create an alternative international council aimed at fighting for the survival of the white nations and preserving their identities.”
Dugin has also been labeled by some as an anti-Semite and a global white nationalist. His strategic view is the U.S. and the West are pushing at Russia’s borders with their ideas of liberal democracy, freedom, science, and cultural diversity.
The invasion of Ukraine is all of the above. Vladimir Putin can say it is to stop the spread of NATO but that can be true but all of the above about Dugin’s ideology is true. The former is Putin’s elusive justification for his invasion; the reasons as set forth by Dugin and many other far-right thinkers are a fact. You can find the writings online.
In addition to all of this, last week, we had the 45th President of the U.S. spend days supporting the invasion of Ukraine even though he lives in America and benefits from that fact. Has an ex-American President ever rooted for the country that their country (the U.S.) opposes in a conflict? The 45th President’s number one advisor, Steve Bannon is also on record as stating that the invasion is 100 percent on President Joe Biden.
Bannon and the 45th President are white nationalists. If you are a white nationalist or a white world supremacist, you stand with Dugin and Putin. You have to.
Tucker Carlson, the Fox tabloid TV guy, is a white world supremacist and white nationalist despite the fact he has no interest in any dustups. By standing with Putin, he is saying as much. Many others are the same.
All of this presents a choice for many Americans — are you aligned with Putin because you are white in America? Where do you stand? Do you believe this is all another U.S. production dressed up as a U.S. good guy expedition? Americans, all Americans must ask — do we have a stake in Ukraine?
No matter where you stand as an American or a resident of America, Ukraine has meaning. Most of all, human beings have to oppose violent solutions to disputes. War is bad.
And the invasion of Ukraine is evil because its goals are evil. Putin is dangerous and an authoritarian waiting to take whatever he can take at the expense of the entire human population. The U.S. could be dishonest and manipulative here but that is relative to the bigger picture. It can be true that the U.S. wants to spread its free-market, neoliberal ideas of globalism and democracy, but it is true that Putin is a rogue leader.
For Americans, opposed to white world supremacy and with obvious American connections to the global South, Putin and anyone rooting for him is the enemy. And that is what is really at work here.
The Putin-Dugin vision sees the world in terms of white domination, undemocratic, and authoritarian. It is white people against people of color.
Here’s one journalist reporting on that vision:
If they can convince more white people that people of color (Africans, Latin-Americans, Asians, and other indigenous populations) are a threat to white survival and success, they can unite the right so to speak. Not just in America, which is being tried right now in its own way, but in Europe. It is not working yet but it could work.
African Americans also should be paying attention to Ukraine not just because people are being killed and run off their homes, but because of all groups on earth, we value freedom, and democracy more than most. African Americans are Americans. We are also amongst the biggest champions in the world for true democracy and freedom. Our history demands it. The path from chattel slavery to legal citizenship for African Americans in the 1960s was a constant struggle.
African Americans would be wise to pay attention to Ukraine like any American who values freedom and abhor authoritarianism, real authoritarianism. Since the 45th President came to office, authoritarianism has become acceptable amongst many Americans. The failure of liberal democracy to maintain a certain sense of economic security rubbed many the wrong way.
Yet, you can fight for economic equality and against discrimination in a free society with free speech and democratic components. It is a struggle but it is possible to make a better society.
In a far-right authoritarian world, life is pointless and absurd. You have few options if Putin and Dugin’s world becomes acceptable in the West. No one wants to live in such a country or a world. I know I don’t.
Stay woke, folks. Ukraine is about you whether you know it or not.
Source Materials
The “White World’s Future?” An Analysis of the Russian Far Right Author(s): Richard Arnold and Ekaterina Romanova, Journal for the Study of Radicalism , Vol. 7, №1 (2013), pp. 79–107
Azure no. 35, Winter 5769 / 2009, “The Prophet of the New Russian Empire,” By Yigal Liverant http://azure.org.il/include/print.php?id=483
John Dunlop, “Aleksandr Dugin’s Foundation of Geopolitics,” Demokratizatsuia, Jan 31, 2004