Democracy or dictatorship? The moral call to defend Ukraine

This article considers what the figure of the Nazi means today, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine. Like Hans-Herbert Kögler, the article considers Nazism as a Russian political discourse, which has to be understood on its own terms. In this regard, the article proposes that for Putin it is unlikely that the Holocaust is Nazism’s main point of reference, but rather the murder and slavery of millions of Slavs and Russians is. In this regard, talk of Nazism is a way of recalling the existential threat that Russians experienced as Slavs.

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confidence: 97%

Nazism, nationalism and the war in Ukraine: A reply to Kögler

Chipkin¹

2023

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confidence: 99%

“…Yet documents declassified in 2017 show that such assurances were repeatedly given to Soviet leaders by at least 10 Western leaders (Baker, Bush, Genscher, Kohl, Gates, Mitterrand, Thatcher, Hurd, Major and Wo ¨rne). 1 Western leaders broke these promises as NATO repeatedly expanded eastward. Russians feared with good reason that Ukraine would also join NATO, completing their own encirclement, and they had good reason to be angry about the Western powers' betrayals.…”

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confidence: 99%

Democracy or dictatorship? The moral call to defend Ukraine by Hans-Herbert Kögler

Mann

2023

Ko ¨gler has written a scathing critique of the attempt by the Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin to legitimize the Russian attack on Ukraine (Ko ¨gler, 2023). Ko ¨gler asserts that both Dugin's theory and President Putin's action are 'embedded in and inconceivable without a nationalistic cultural essentialism analysis, which ideologically supports the geopolitical claims of territorial domination via the symbolic ideal of the uniquely Russian national character'. In consequence, says Ko ¨gler, this led to politics seeking the total elimination of Ukrainian culture and identity. He says Putin's 'imperial Eurasian ideology includes Dugin's cultural essentialism'. I am sceptical as to Dugin's influence on Putin, for which Ko ¨gler gives no evidence. But his obsession with a philosophy that borders on the metaphysical reveals a cultural essentialism of his own, neglecting the more material specifics of the invasion and the dynamics of war itself. I would add more down to earth historical, geopolitical and political aspects of this invasion.Firstly, history. Ukraine had been tied to Russia for most of its history. The 'Kievan Rus' state with a single dominant language and centred in Kiev lasted from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries. It was succeeded by many smaller realms and the single language diverged into Ukrainian and Russian versions. Political dominance shifted from Kiev to Muscovy. Kiev was reunited with Russia at the end of the seventeenth century, and most of Ukraine was absorbed into Russia in the course of the eighteenth century.

“…The following principles include: (1) the unconditional recognition of the ethico-political and cultural sovereignty of other nations, (2) respect for the territorial integrity of both countries, (3) respect for individuals belonging to ethnic and religious minorities in the state where they exist and function and (4) a strictly non-violent, diplomatic or a dialogic approach in any further negotiations and agreements.Ko ¨gler notes that while the first principle has never been an issue for Ukraine, the Russian Federation claims the opposite (Ko ¨gler, 2023). If the condition were met, Russia 'would thus have to rescind its declared war goals based on its cultural essentialism, or at least reinterpret them to such an extent that it allows for the parallel existence of ethico-national entities that assert their moral, cultural, national, and political independence' (Ko ¨gler, 2023).The ethico-political and cultural sovereignty of a nation refers to the idea that a nation has the right to govern itself according to its own ethical, political and cultural values, free from external interference or domination. It also presupposes that cultural diversity and identity are respected and preserved.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Ko ¨gler notes that while the first principle has never been an issue for Ukraine, the Russian Federation claims the opposite (Ko ¨gler, 2023). If the condition were met, Russia 'would thus have to rescind its declared war goals based on its cultural essentialism, or at least reinterpret them to such an extent that it allows for the parallel existence of ethico-national entities that assert their moral, cultural, national, and political independence' (Ko ¨gler, 2023).…”

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confidence: 99%

Response to Hans-Herbert Kögler, Democracy or dictatorship? The moral call to defend Ukraine

Bila

2023

The question of ending the Russian-Ukrainian war is now on the agenda in many circles but there are many different views on what this might entail. In his article Hans-Herbert Ko ¨gler also touches upon the normative conditions that would morally allow for a negotiation. I argue that for Russia to comply with them seems, at this point, it is unrealistic, since it would imply a complete transformation of Russia's modus vivendi for the last two decades. The following principles include: (1) the unconditional recognition of the ethico-political and cultural sovereignty of other nations, (2) respect for the territorial integrity of both countries, (3) respect for individuals belonging to ethnic and religious minorities in the state where they exist and function and (4) a strictly non-violent, diplomatic or a dialogic approach in any further negotiations and agreements.Ko ¨gler notes that while the first principle has never been an issue for Ukraine, the Russian Federation claims the opposite (Ko ¨gler, 2023). If the condition were met, Russia 'would thus have to rescind its declared war goals based on its cultural essentialism, or at least reinterpret them to such an extent that it allows for the parallel existence of ethico-national entities that assert their moral, cultural, national, and political independence' (Ko ¨gler, 2023).The ethico-political and cultural sovereignty of a nation refers to the idea that a nation has the right to govern itself according to its own ethical, political and cultural values, free from external interference or domination. It also presupposes that cultural diversity and identity are respected and preserved.