Putin's Justification: The Insanely Dangerous World of Nationalism
We’re screwed unless reason beats myth
Reasons and Justifications
My Dad doesn't particularly care about current events.
His conflict-averse nature and 'see no evil, hear no evil' tendencies keep his news consumption to a minimum, and he'd sooner stick his eyelids in a curling iron than debate politics.
It drives me nuts, but hey, he doesn't need to take pills to stay normal. I do.
Go figure.
Our soft ban on the discussion of current events broke 14 days ago.
"Hey, Joe…. What's going on with Ukraine?"
A clumsy 5-minute speech on the burgeoning invasion followed. My explanation didn't correct his confused frown.
"Okay, but….. why?"
An awkward 10-second silence followed.
"I… have no idea."
I wish that this piece represented a review of the actual reasons that Vladimir Putin decided to invade his sovereign neighbor, but it doesn't. I still have no clue, and I don't think anyone else does either. I can only assume that Putin isn’t an idiot, but his invasion certainly seems idiotic. Russia is taking paying dearly for it, and for the life of me, I cannot imagine what payoff they see at the end of the tunnel. If you're interested in Putin's reasons, Anne Applebaum wrote a great piece in the Atlantic a few weeks before the invasion, but at the end of the day, she's basically guessing as well.
Putin's reasons are interesting, but I want to explore something more abstract, and I daresay, more important for Americans.
I want to talk about Putin's justifications.
We might use the words reason and justification interchangeably, but they’re critically distinct. When I bought new carbon wheels for my road bike last year, my reason was that they looked cool, but my justification was that they were more aero than my old wheels for the same weight and that it was free speed (“free” used in a very loose, “more like $1500”, kinda way). Basically, reasons are what they are, and the justifications that stand in their place can be good or bad.
Putin’s reasons are unknown, but he’s essentially stuck with four justifications:
- Potential NATO expansion
2. Ukraine might have nukes (Dick Cheney, is that you…?)
3. ‘Genocide’ of ethnic Russians
4. Ukraine isn’t a legitimate state
Justification 1 is the only one of the four even loosely rooted in reality. Ukraine was probably moving towards NATO membership. This doesn’t make it a good justification by any stretch, but at least it’s not completely stupid, like justification 2.
Justification 2 is laughable. It doesn’t deserve anyone’s serious attention.
Justifications 3 and 4 are the most interesting to me. There isn’t much reliable public opinion polling coming out of Russia at the moment, but my very un-scientific guess is that lots of Russians probably support the invasion, and that those who do are persuaded mainly by justifications 3 and 4. Ukraine has been drifting towards the West since the fall of the U.S.S.R; I seriously doubt that many Russians became suddenly and passionately concerned about Ukraine joining NATO out of nowhere in February 2022. I also doubt that anyone believes that there are, or were going to be, nukes in Ukraine.
Now, if you’re American, it might be hard to believe that anyone could seriously buy into reasons 3 and 4. After all, there are not rooted in any compelling measure of objective truth. Given this, why do I think that they work on Russians?
Because they’re… well… Russian.
Nationalism is a hell of a drug.
If you live in France, it might be hard to believe that “Critical Race Theory” is a seriously impactful political issue in the United States, or that “Make America Great Again” was the winning slogan in a Presidential election. Nationalistic arguments are not universal tools, but they are remarkably effective within the bounds of the nation to which they apply. I use nation instead of country deliberately- it’s another useful distinction.
My personal opinions on Presidents Obama and Trump aside, “Yes We Can” was very obviously directed at the whole country, whereas “Make America Great Again” was directed at a very particular group, or nation, of mostly white, mostly rural Americans who felt disposssed by the globalized, multi-cultural concencus of the Obama era. To their credit, the Trump campaign saw that, counterintuitively, a nationalistic appeal could be more effective than a universal appeal. These nationalistic appeals are not unique to former President Trump, or his movement, but they were applied more brazenly starting in 2015, and they continue to the present. Even before Trump, it was not uncommon to hear politicians trip over each other on the debate stage to assert that “America is the greatest country on Earth” or to suggest that God had ordained America to be the sole great nation on Earth. These nationalistic appeals work because they feel good; they make people feel like they’re part of something special and exclusive. Putin is playing the same cynical game.
Again, the analogy isn’t perfect, but Putin is basically trying to “Make Russia Great Again.” I see a racial undertone to “MAGA” that I don’t see reflected in “MRGA,” but they’re at least comparable. Russia has had some rough years; the U.S.S.R fell apart at the feet of the West, and the Russian people watched a decades-long national project fail miserably. Compared to most of the West, they languished in relative poverty while oligarchs took advantage of corrupt privatization. Put simply, the Russian people are craving a win. Putin knows that human beings are attracted to power structures; that it is comforting to belong to the stronger tribe, and that most of us are just a show of power away from leaving our objectivity at the door and chasing after a bright dream of a past that never existed. It feels good to see Russia flex it’s muscles, and Putin is happy to oblige.
I’ve said it before, but “shock and awe” was for us at home as much as it was for Saddam Hussain.
Why it matters
All of us are vulnerable to the seductive appeal of nationalism. Ask yourself honestly: if someone waves a big enough flag and sings “America the beautiful” loud enough, at what point won’t you vote for them?
Nationalism is antithetical to principle; it is philosophically hollow. We might look at Russians who support the war in Ukraine and wonder how anyone could possibly be so gullible, but it’s worth remembering that Americans frequently go along with objectively bad ideas when they’re presented by someone with a big enough flag pin. *cough* Iraq *cough* Vietman *cough* McCarthy *cough* January 6 *cough*
Flags, songs, baseball, hotdogs, bald eagles, and statues are just things; they only mean what they stand for, and the American flag has flown over some objectively bad stuff. While it’s gratifying to imagine that the Founding Fathers were infallible demi-Gods who established a flawless system, it’s not very effective way to manage a system. Nationalism feeds us comfortable lies instead of necessary truths. In the United States, it has created a dynamic devoid of nuance; the founders were either perfect or evil, we’re either not racist or irredeemably racist, America is either the best or the worst.
In reality, Jefferson was a great thinker who’s dedication to the novel concept of self-governance started the fire that would spread democracy throughout the world, but he was also a racist slave-owner who raped a child.
In reality, the United States is not permanently and hopelessly racist, but until we recognize the staggaring effects of systemic racism and do something about it, it will be.
In reality, the United States is a safer, more stable country than most, but we’re not doing as well as a lot of others, and we have lots of room for improvement.
Patriotism is humble dedication to ideals, while nationalism is blind dedication to real estate. Patriotism is rooted in a desire to as good as you can be, while nationalism is rooted in a desire to be as great as you think you once were. Patriotism is complex and difficult and nuanced, while nationalism is simplistic and easy and uncompromising.
Until we figure out how to let go of our comfortable nationalism, we’re never going to be able to reclaim our role as the leaders of the free world, rectify our racial problems, or address the climate crisis.
I’m proud to be American because I belive in America’s potential to be great, not in any inherent greatness.
Don’t let nationalism sink our ship at home, and pray for Ukraine tonight.
