Readers of this blog know that I’ve been warning about the dangers of nationalists such as Vladimir Putin. Recent events have some disturbing parallels:
Recall this history:
September 1938: Germany demands German speaking areas of Czechoslovakia
March 1939: Germany takes all of Czechoslovakia
September 1939: Germany invades Poland
And recent events:
February 2014: Russia demands Russian speaking areas of Ukraine
March 2022: Russia invades all of Ukraine
April 2022: Russia announces its intention to invade Moldova
People who suggest that, “If we just give Putin what he wants then we can have peace”, might wish to ponder the lessons of 1938. Putin won’t stop until he’s been stopped.
To be sure, Putin is not exactly like Hitler, who was a unique figure in world history. There are many important differences between the two situations. But one thing that does not change is that militaristic nationalistic fascists are a unique threat to world peace. There are other threats out there, but WWIII is likely to begin in the “bloodlands” of Eastern Europe.
PS. I strongly recommend Tyler Cowen’s excellent Bloomberg piece on the nuclear threat.
READER COMMENTS
tpeach
Apr 23 2022 at 12:38pm
I was just looking into the Bloodlands book the other day. The Eastern Front has always fascinated me. Have you read any of Snyder’s other stuff? He’s got a substack blog: https://snyder.substack.com/
Scott Sumner
Apr 23 2022 at 2:51pm
No, I have not.
Mark Brady
Apr 23 2022 at 8:33pm
We should be careful to distinguish between Moldova and Transnistria. The Russian general spoke of Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which is an unrecognised but de facto independent presidential republic with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, currency, and vehicle registration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria
Mark Z
Apr 24 2022 at 3:32pm
How? Are you supporting declaring war in Russia? Note that Putin has nuclear weapons, so the stakes are much higher than they were in 1938.
Putin has already deviated from the Hitlerian trajectory in adjusting his war aims down from all of Ukraine to the Donbas region, indicating he is rational enough to adjust his expectations to bad news, unlike Hitler. We’re not facing some dilemma where we either start ww3 to overthrow Putin on the one hand or accept we’ll all be speaking Russian in 10 years in the other. That’s dangerous thinking in its own right.
Michael Stack
Apr 25 2022 at 11:47am
Mark, I agree, I’ve been thinking the same way. If Scott disagrees (and it sounds as if he might), I’d love to know why.
Michael Sandifer
Apr 25 2022 at 2:56am
Scott,
Would you support direct NATO attacks on Russians in Ukraine, if necessary to prevent Putin from keeping more territory from Ukraine?
Loquitur Veritatem
Apr 25 2022 at 11:44am
Where do you draw the line between good nationalists and bad ones? Hitler was very bad. Putin is bad. But is Zelenskyy good, or just today’s headline hero?
What about leaders who don’t protect their own citizens’ interests? Biden for example, who thinks it’s okay to “invite” hordes of illegal immigrants who burden taxpayers and commit crimes. Conclusion: anti-nationalism ain’t so hot either.
Michael Sandifer
Apr 25 2022 at 11:00pm
Are you bad, because you make completely false claims about illegal immigrants burdening taxpayers and committing crimes?
Comments are closed.