Putin Manages Power Politics Better than Obama

It’s been said that there is a new Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. However, this statement is false; what we are really seeing is a return to power politics. And the Kremlin is much better at it than Washington.

The Cold War is over. It came to an end when the wall fell and the regime that had spread anxiety and fear for seven centuries perished from its own weakness. When the war started exactly is unclear. Some people say it was 1917, when the Bolsheviks expelled the Mensheviks from the key ministries, stole their revolution, seized power and, from that moment on, ruled Russia with an iron fist.

Others believe it to have started between 1946 and 1948. The author of these words believes 1917 to be more accurate. At this time, the communists were preparing to not only exterminate the middle classes, murder their own people and establish a terror regime on an unprecedented scale, but they also made clear when their own victory would come. Only when the red flag flies over the White House, and when the evil empire — the capitalist world — has been conquered, will we have achieved paradise on Earth. Lamb and lion will live in harmony and humanity will live happily in the “sunshine state.”

In short, the Cold War was a battle for an ideology against the rest of the world. In fact, the communists lost their missionary vigor over the years; in the end, only a lifeless kind of power remained. Without support from the rest of the world, Moscow’s wish to uphold the Soviet Empire was worthless.

By 1989, it was all over for the communist leadership after the Cold War. The communist blocs melted away like butter in the sun, and the atomic bombs — the most unearthly fruit to have fallen from the tree of knowledge into the hands of mankind — became much less important. Phrases such as “balance of terror” and “strategy of massive retaliation” that once produced fear among the people suddenly resembled drops in the sea of memory.

What remained at the end of it all was the Western world, with America as its leading nation. At the end, therefore, very little was achieved from this period, only the guarantee that the United States would forever be seen as a superpower.

After 1989, an old acquaintance entered the stage of world politics. Russia had not been confronted in so long that Europeans (and Germans in particular) barely recognized it anymore. Yet, it had always been present. It was 20 years ago when the diplomat Jürgen von Alten finally put a name to it in his book entitled “die ganz normale Anarchie” [“The Quite Normal Anarchy”]. During the period of the communist blocs, Russia had been suppressed to a large extent because even an anarchy that governed nations all over the world could quickly reach the Cold War powder keg and set it alight.

Would-be Power Russia

So anarchy has returned in many different forms. One of these is power politics, which is currently dominated by Vladimir Putin. Putin is the president of a large central power that suffers from numerous problems, primarily originating from rising oil revenues — the last symbol of their elapsed presence of world power — and nuclear weapons, which constantly ignite conflict with Russia’s former rival. His nation should be made to understand that just as the Soviet Empire died out, the Russian Empire will follow suit.

Until now, Putin has used a series of clever tactics to bite America’s heels. He understands how to exploit Obama’s weaknesses and how to employ the strategies that the U.S. president has always avoided. A few examples of this are as follows: Shortly after Obama removed a large proportion of his sixth fleet from the Mediterranean, Putin dispatched Russian warships to the region; while his counterpart in Washington wavered when dealing with Syrian President Assad, Putin sided with the dictator. Furthermore, he dispatched S-300 rockets to Damascus, an action that would change the strategic balance and hamper the creation of a no-fly zone, if it were ever to occur.

Putin’s Gifts

Since 1989, Russia has been regarded as a large yet remote entity in the Middle East. Today, thanks to American politics, Russia has become a reliable support tool for the villains of the region and is searching high and low to find allies in conflict with the United States. It wants to dwarf the U.S. in order to appear greater itself. When one side sways because it is losing power, the other side strives to regain balance.

In the case of Edward Snowden, the issue could have been resolved very differently. President Putin kept a cool head, particularly in front of his conservative, reactionary voters, who wish to regain their former glory and old rivalry. They will never stop. Vladimir Putin considers Barack Obama to be a pushover who gave up NATO’s missile defense in the Czech Republic and Poland without needing to do so. He also believes that Obama does not value his European allies as he should. Washington’s decision to not be completely open about the subject of Libya and hide behind the Brits and the French only strengthened this view further. Admittedly though, Moscow’s resources are limited in the empire of power politics.

Return to Realpolitik

And America? Until now, Obama has swayed between idealistic and realistic foreign politics. Furthermore, it appears that he believes that in this period of global economic crisis, Washington will be able to remain on the sidelines. However, the country is too powerful to allow itself such childish beliefs; if it puts down its guard, it will be disregarded by its rivals.

Obama’s hesitation means that America will keep its distance from this conflict. However, it is so involved in it now that in the end, it will hardly be able to remain impartial. The criticism that Obama is receiving in Washington should not be dismissed, despite the fact that he is trying to avoid it with powerful words and gestures. His rejection of Putin is largely due to internal politics. It will not cause much damage, but it will prove a point; that should be sufficient.

It would not be beneficial to boycott the Olympic Games, as some hotheads are demanding. Nevertheless, it would be wise for Obama to finally take up realpolitik, as it would measure the interest of other states and those individuals who remain firm in their beliefs. Only in this way can the quite normal anarchy be re-established.