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27 12 2021
in Economics and politics

Has NATO decided to sacrifice Ukraine?

Donetsk, Ukraine. Civilians living in bomb shelter, January 2015.
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To Russia’s demand for a stop for NATO’s eastward expansion, NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg has answered that Russia has no say in which countries are becoming members of NATO, a viewpoint that has been repeated by the G7 countries, warning that there will be “massive consequences” for Russia if it intervenes in Ukraine. So Russia’s “red lines” have been rejected, well knowing that this may mean military conflict. What is contradictory is that by defending Ukraine’s right to NATO membership, NATO actually risks throwing Ukraine under the bus. So has NATO decided to sacrifice Ukraine? Or are the Russians…
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Monday, 22 November 2021 21:43 in Economics and politics

What happened to the “freedom gas”?

Polish LNG tanker, delivery from the USA.
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When the US increased the capacity for exporting Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in 2019, Trump promised a new era where the Europeans would get “freedom gas” instead of the malign Russian gas. Now that Europe is in the middle of a gas crisis with soaring prices, what happened to the freedom gas? Short answer: it went to South-Eastern Asia where prices are better. The gas crisis is a result of EU’s love for spot-markets for energy rather than long term contracts. This implies that they sometimes get very cheap gas and sometimes very expensive gas. Just now, the EU is…
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Saturday, 20 November 2021 00:03 in Politics

The bad old habit of meddling

Frontcover of Time Magazin, July 16, 1996.
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The 2016 US election where Donald Trump defeated Hilary Clinton gave rise to an unprecedented wave of accusations of meddling in the elections. The main culprit was Russia, and the Russian meddling was seen as decisive. If not, how could Hilary lose, despite having almost the whole US establishment and most of the media supporting her? That the US should accuse other countries of meddling in their internal affairs, is quite funny, given that they are the meddlers par excellence, and by the way are proud of it. However, meddling in other countries’ internal affairs is and old, bad habit,…
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Sunday, 14 November 2021 18:18 in Politics

How to conserve the peace in Europa

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 takes part in Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 in the Black Sea.
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A new a multi-polar world is dawning on us. This has implications for all corners of the world, but not least for Europe, the cradle of the two world wars. The dominating powers in Europe are US-lead NATO in the military sphere and EU in the economic and political sphere. According to both, all would be well in Europe had it not been for Russia which is a malign power trying to subdue independent countries, sowing confusion and distrust within the EU and threatening the continent with military invasion. They both need to reconsider and think harder if they are…
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Saturday, 13 November 2021 17:59 in Politics

The difficult new multi-polar world

Kennedy giving his seminal speech at the American University in 1963, called the peace speech
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Despite many denials, it is clear that the hegemonic US-lead liberal international order is on its way out. What has to come is necessarily a multi-polar world, with the US as one of the heavy players, but one among several. If you have any doubts, just listen to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, declaring that the US is entering a “tripolar” world. It will be very difficult for the US political and military establishment to accept this bitter reality, and a politician accepting it is facing a risk of political demise. This is…
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Tuesday, 23 March 2021 21:23 in Politics

The Rule Based International Order – which rules?

Screenshot from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
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The new catch-word in international politics is “Rule Based International Order”. The narrative is that this order is being challenged from outside by rogue revisionist countries, principally China, Russia and Iran, and from inside by nationalist and populist politicians (Trump, Brexiters, Orban, Marie Le Pen and the like). There is a call to arms to defend/re-establish this threatened Rule-Based Order. However, if we take a closer look, it becomes obvious that the rules are bent or invented to fit the wanted narrative to the extent that you start doubting whether there are any rules at all.
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