Paul R. Viotti

Nationalism vs. Internationalism: Fears, Uncertainties and Geopolitics in Europe

Current events have created fears and uncertainties about peace in Europe and in the world as a whole. These concerns are a response to the rise of Vladimir Putin and the Russian-nationalist policies he has pursued vis-a-vis the former Soviet republics of Georgia, Ukraine, and elsewhere; Brexit—the British referendum calling for U.K. withdrawal from the European Union (EU); the emergence of an America-first, nationalist rhetoric in the Trump administration in the United States; and rising nationalist sentiments in other European countries. Do these events mark the beginning of the end of the multilateralist, liberal order that has avoided general war and sustained the European peace? More specifically, are we returning to the kind of realist geopolitics among states that prevailed prior to the two world wars and, for that matter, in previous centuries? Given the rise of this nationalism, how durable are the liberal institutions and norms of the post-World War II and post-Cold War orders?

Professional Versus Citizen Soldiery

Consistent with Samuel Huntington’s separatist thesis in Soldier and the state, the ‘military professional’ is one who pursues expertise in combat in service to a country’s or society’s defense. In this separatist view, such service does not require the solider to be fully integrated with civil society. Professional soldiers in a democratic society also have as part of their organizational ethos a strong disinclination to intervene in politics. Indeed, one finds professional militaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere imbued with this separatist, professional ethic but at the same time committed as professionals to respecting constitutional government, institutions, and political processes.

European Peace Movements and Missile Deployments

Antideployment peace movement activity in Europe has declined in intensity since deployments of intermediate-range nuclear forces began in December 1983; the issue, however, will likely remain on the political agenda for several years as these deployments continue. Peace movements are nationally oriented with much less transnational collaboration than is usually imagined. The movements vary from country to country, with Dutch peace activities relatively the strongest in terms of effective political influence. Peace movements tend to be stronger in northern European Protestant areas; less so among European Catholics. Explanations for this are speculative but include such factors as religious doctrinal differences, guilt among some churchmen for not having taken stronger moral positions on state matters during the Hitler period, and success in postwar demilitarization policies. In any event, Western publics will likely remain a central part of the negotiations/deployment, two-track process as they have from the outset.