Issue 44 Spring 2022
CONTENTS: Ukraine crisis exposes divisions in the West, Alex Davidson The news on Ukraine is not what it seems, Gary Lefley Taiwan – rolling the dice of war, Simon Korner The EU after Merkel, Frieda Park Ready to kill, Carl Sandberg Eye-witness at Venezuelan elections, Calvin Tucker COP 26 – A failure to address vested interests and inequalities, David Wickham BlackRock – a new breed of financial monster, John Moore The battle over Boris Johnson, Helen Christopher Sweatshops thrive in the garment industry, Clare Bailey Agriculture – Tories squander Brexit opportunity, Marianne Hitchen Football – billionaire owners strain loyalty of fans, Steve Bishop Dopesick Review, Brian Durrans
This edition of The Socialist Correspondent went to press before Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine with the articles written in early February. The threat of war, which we warned of, has now become a real war. This is a dangerous situation and one where, by accident or design, military action could escalate between nuclear armed powers. The analysis we present in the journal shows the processes at work which led to this crisis.
By refusing to address Russia’s security concerns the West is responsible for what is currently happening. As we point out, the West reneged on a commitment that NATO would not expand further east when the Soviet Union ended. In 2014 the US orchestrated a coup in Ukraine which led to rebellions in Donetsk and Luhansk. Neither the West nor Ukraine has implemented the Minsk 2 agreement which aimed to provide stability and a way forward in relation to Donetsk and Luhansk. Indeed armed conflict has continued there with Ukraine recently increasing shelling of these regions. Ukraine is portrayed as a bastion of democracy, but it is a US client state with neo-Nazis playing a big part, including in the armed forces. Nazi war criminals who supported Hitler are openly celebrated, there are attacks on Trade Unionists, anti-Semitic attacks and Communists are barred from standing in elections.
The recent negotiations between Russia and various Western powers did not seem to have produced any progress. If the West had negotiated in good faith the current situation could have been avoided.
Far from seeking a peaceful resolution, the US, supported by Britain, wanted to increase tensions leading to conflict with Russia as a means of firmly establishing its hegemony. Major European powers such as Germany have had a more open relationship with Russia politically and economically. A major objective for the US has been to force them into line and in particular to kill off the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The US has had success in this, however, that will not make the underlying differences go away. The increasing disenchantment in Europe over US unilateral actions gave an impetus to the policy promoted by Emmanuel Macron of EU “strategic autonomy”. That might also be pushed back, with NATO now leading in Europe over the Ukraine crisis. Rivalries have been dampened down for the time being, but in the longer term the resentments in Germany and France over US domination may well rankle and grow.
The West has signalled that it is unwilling to engage in negotiations with Russia, yet that will be necessary to end the conflict. Instead it is ramping up confrontational rhetoric, sanctions and is pouring in armaments and other forms of military support to the countries in NATO encircling Russia.
Some on the left and in the peace movement have begun to retreat from criticising NATO as a warmongering force. But the political onslaught from the establishment and the warmongers does not change the reality that it is NATO that has been the biggest threat to peace over the decades for example in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Nor does it change the role that it had in creating the current crisis. That needs to be said.
Western pundits have now begun to talk openly of regime change in Russia. A further intervention in the affairs of another nation and in whose interests? The US would like Russia to be compliant rather than a capitalist competitor in Europe or elsewhere.
As we also point out in this issue the US has China in its sights as well and is using similar tactics to confront and isolate it. This is another major threat to world peace.
Read the PDF version of Issue 44
