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A quick rundown of the mostly aligned, but sometimes conflicting factors for a coherent left take on the Ukraine crisis…Permalink On twitter.com
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Anti-imperialism and self-determination are foundational values for looking at international conflicts. Both are grounded in a refusal of the right to conquer territory by force.Permalink On twitter.com
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SInce the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact and 1929 Litvinov Protocol, even imperial powers like the US and France, as well as the Soviet Union, are formally signed on to the admissibility of acquiring territory by force.Permalink On twitter.com
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Legal condemnation of the Axis Powers in the Nurember and Tokyo trials are built on this foundation, so is modern international law.Permalink On twitter.com
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The UN Charter made this a treaty obligation of all states. Self-determination and decolonization built on this. This is what we invoke when we defend(ed) Algeria, Vietnam, Palestine, Western Sahara, East Timor.Permalink On twitter.com
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While freedom of smaller countries from foreign powers has been an uphill climb, large and subtantial regional peace—notably in Europe, Latin America—has also emerged in this framework.Permalink On twitter.com
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(This is why this invasion is both one point in a long series globally, with Iraq 2003, Georgia 2008 as prior examples, and a shocking break in the European context.)Permalink On twitter.com
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So principles of international law are both close to causes of justice and elements that are routinely violated.Permalink On twitter.com
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Those of us who live in imperial powers have ample opportunity to take stands in defense of international law by demanding that our governments abandon occupied territories and occupying allies… for Americans this includes ongoing wars/occupations in Yemen, W Sahara, Palestine.Permalink On twitter.com
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But that doesn't mean that we have no ethical interest in the anti-imperial struggles, rights for self-determination of people affected by rival imperial powers.Permalink On twitter.com
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In the early 21st century, there are at least three independent great powers: the US (& many allies), Russia, and China. All are expansionist. All are capitalist.Permalink On twitter.com
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Part of our ideological work as anti-imperialists is refusing the cognitive structures of empire. We should reject the Monroe doctrine, US domination of Latin America. And for the same reason, reject the concept of a Russian near abroad, sphere of influence.Permalink On twitter.com
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Our efforts should focus on alliances and empathy with anti-militarists and anti-imperialists in Russia, not with Russian fears of an independent Ukraine.On twitter.com
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We should educate ourselves about, and cultivate solidarity around past forms of imperial domination in the Russian orbit, notably the coordinated starvation of Ukraine and the mass deportation of ethnic groups across the Soviet Union.Permalink On twitter.com
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The next level, militarism, is more complex. Confrontations among coutries with large militaries are disastrous.Permalink On twitter.com
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We're witnessing the beginning of one of only a handful of military-military conflicts since 1945. (Most wars in that period were fought by irregular, non-state forces on at least one side.)Permalink On twitter.com
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Iran–Iraq and US–Iraq both illustrate the horrifying toll that such conflicts can bring. De-escalation is a huge priority. As is global diplomatic and economic isolation of states that start such wars.Permalink On twitter.com
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Between wars, US military alliances like NATO are massive export markets for weapons manufacturers. Each sale increases the risks and costs of future conflict.Permalink On twitter.com
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Despite its successful deterrence so far, then, NATO represents a gamble that could eventually make future conflicts far more deadly.Permalink On twitter.com
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Separately, the involvement of nuclear powers represents both a severe risk and a mechanism that can cause military powers to think twice before escalating.Permalink On twitter.com
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For a mirror image example, consider Cuba in the 1960s… the Soviet Union developed an alliance with a former colony of the US, provoking a nuclear crisis, but also likely deterring a full-scale US invasion.Permalink On twitter.com
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Ukraine would be a nuclear power too, were it not for a denuclearization agreement in which both Russia and the US promised to respect its sovereignty. There are long-term implications of a world that reneges on protection for giving up nuclear weapons.Permalink On twitter.com
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Last but not least, the conflict in Ukraine sees a democratic government facing invasion by a oligarchical and authoritarian one, whose leader has declared that it isn't a real nation. Nothing good can come of that.Permalink On twitter.com
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In short, there are wide reasons for left sympathy with Ukraine in this conflict. In the context of Russian threats, and violence, Ukraine's practical refuge is engagement with the EU and future alliance with NATO, two institutions leftists have long questioned.Permalink On twitter.com
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Leftists' rightful rejection US imperial power should not cloud our moral rejection of Russia's current imperial invasion.Permalink On twitter.com