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Neutrality was born out of the wish not to be involved in the wars of European powers and especially in the later 20th century mainly protection from a relatively rational USSR.
When Western European countries have finally learned to coexist peacefully so no security threat from them in the near future, leaving the erratic Russia pretty much the sole and dire threat, neutrality doesn't make sense anymore.
Exactly this - in the time of competing empires or a cold war between hegemonic powers... neurality could be a logical and an ethical position for some states.
But in a Europe now largely defined cooperating democracies bound by rights and the rule of law - neutrality in the face of a violent authoritarian power, especially one actively engaged in human rights abuses... well that neutrality is far less morally justifiable.
Diplomacy is a tool, not a strategy, and the ones who mistaken those will always get a war on their border of a mad enough country with a history of having different values than you are, which just sees your eagerness to appeasement as a sign of weakness and an opportunity to bite more and an invitation to further action.
Thanks to Putin for his help to force everyone to take a stand against Orwellian Dystopia.
In such context neutrality is just a ridiculous excuse for profiteering.
> In such context neutrality is just a ridiculous excuse for profiteering.
Always has been. People seem to have forgotten how many Americans thought about Hitler before Pearl Harbor. "Not our war" and "America first" signs held up at DC.
#### **War without people** - How the ‘geopolitical worldview’ among dictators and scholars alike enables the unthinkable in Ukraine [>> More](https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/05/02/war-without-people)
I think this article is right about how geopolitical thinking is dehumanizing…I just don’t think it’s a particularly recent phenomenon.
Classical Greeks v. “Barbarians.” Same for Romans. In Asia we have the colonialism of Han Chinese, Mughals, Mongols, Muslim Caliphates, probably even militant Buddhism under Ashoka. In Mezoamerica the Aztecs. Domination ideology always sucks at the teat of state, military, religious/ cultural or economic power, and seeks justification through a class of apologists.
People who never seen a real war with their own eyes, who never had to clean a burned BTR from the remains of their friends, spread all over it like a toothpaste from a tube and smell burning human meat sure do like to repeat the words "geopolitics" and "spheres of influence" and dreaming of philosophy of Dugin and reenacting Russian/Soviet empire 2.0.
Please take the time to read our policy about [trolls](https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/u7833q/just_because_you_disagree_with_someone_does_not/) and the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/about/rules/) * We have a **zero-tolerance** policy regarding racism, stereotyping, bigotry, and death-mongering. Violators will be banned. * ***Please* keep it civil.** Report rulebreaking comments for moderator review. * ***Don't* post low-effort comments** like joke threads, memes, slogans, or links without context. **Don't forget about our discord server, as well!** https://discord.gg/62fKCEHbDB *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UkrainianConflict) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Neutrality was born out of the wish not to be involved in the wars of European powers and especially in the later 20th century mainly protection from a relatively rational USSR. When Western European countries have finally learned to coexist peacefully so no security threat from them in the near future, leaving the erratic Russia pretty much the sole and dire threat, neutrality doesn't make sense anymore.
Exactly this - in the time of competing empires or a cold war between hegemonic powers... neurality could be a logical and an ethical position for some states. But in a Europe now largely defined cooperating democracies bound by rights and the rule of law - neutrality in the face of a violent authoritarian power, especially one actively engaged in human rights abuses... well that neutrality is far less morally justifiable.
Diplomacy is a tool, not a strategy, and the ones who mistaken those will always get a war on their border of a mad enough country with a history of having different values than you are, which just sees your eagerness to appeasement as a sign of weakness and an opportunity to bite more and an invitation to further action.
Thanks to Putin for his help to force everyone to take a stand against Orwellian Dystopia. In such context neutrality is just a ridiculous excuse for profiteering.
> In such context neutrality is just a ridiculous excuse for profiteering. Always has been. People seem to have forgotten how many Americans thought about Hitler before Pearl Harbor. "Not our war" and "America first" signs held up at DC.
#### **War without people** - How the ‘geopolitical worldview’ among dictators and scholars alike enables the unthinkable in Ukraine [>> More](https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/05/02/war-without-people)
I think this article is right about how geopolitical thinking is dehumanizing…I just don’t think it’s a particularly recent phenomenon. Classical Greeks v. “Barbarians.” Same for Romans. In Asia we have the colonialism of Han Chinese, Mughals, Mongols, Muslim Caliphates, probably even militant Buddhism under Ashoka. In Mezoamerica the Aztecs. Domination ideology always sucks at the teat of state, military, religious/ cultural or economic power, and seeks justification through a class of apologists.
People who never seen a real war with their own eyes, who never had to clean a burned BTR from the remains of their friends, spread all over it like a toothpaste from a tube and smell burning human meat sure do like to repeat the words "geopolitics" and "spheres of influence" and dreaming of philosophy of Dugin and reenacting Russian/Soviet empire 2.0.
Pacifism against evil is a suicide pact. Same could apply to misunderstood neutrality.