Europe started two world wars, but can play most important role in preventing third one

By Bharat Dogra

Europe started the first two world wars and played a key role in them, even though the extensive distress caused by them spilled over, directly and indirectly, to the greater part of the world. Now Europe can more than make up for this by playing perhaps the most important role in preventing the third one.

This is not to say that at present Europe is already playing this role, or is well on the road for this. Far from this. However the potential clearly exists, and it is for the forces of peace in Europe to realize this potential.

In fact during the recent past in 2022-23 Europe has come as close as ever before to again becoming the starting point or the central point of another world war as high risks of the Ukraine conflict escalating into a wider war involving Russia and the USA/NATO directly on two sides were widely discussed. Fortunately this did not happen but the danger has not entirely gone away yet. Other flash-points for the third world war starting may be in the USA-China struggle for dominance with perhaps Taiwan being used as a proxy. The middle-east with its numerous tension points may also become a flash-point for a wider conflict one day.

Unlike the first two world wars which were prolonged affairs, the third world war may end very soon after starting if weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons are used, but within these few days such massive destruction may be caused as to dwarf the destruction caused by previous wars and in fact the basic life nurturing conditions of life may be endangered or threatened badly.

Hence clearly the biggest priority of the world just now is to avoid all possibilities of another world war or a nuclear weapons war involving the biggest military powers.

Actually no sensible persons or leader wants such a destructive war if other options of achieving dominance or other strategic objectives are available. However when the biggest priority is to ensure dominance or related strategic objectives, then such conditions may be created that lead to such a destructive war without anyone really wanting this.

Given the highest priority of avoiding another world war and a nuclear war, it is evidently very important to consider all possibilities for this and to examine which forces or countries or leaders can play the most important role in this.

One important consideration in this context is whether Europe will merely play the role of following the US foreign and strategic policy or whether it will try to play such an independent and assertive role as is likely to take the world towards peace.

In recent times Europe has merely followed the role envisaged for it as a follower or junior partner by the increasingly aggressive policy-makers in the USA. Senior leaders of Europe like the French President have themselves compared this to a vassal-like role. This has brought Europe in 2022-23 closer to the possibilities of another world war as a result of the possibility of the Ukraine conflict becoming a wider conflict, with Europe again being at the center of it. Of course no one in Europe wants this, but this may under conditions be the ultimate result of playing a vassal like role to a very aggressive super-power.

So it is both in the interests of Europe and world peace that Europe and its leaders should instead play a more independent and assertive role by striving to unitedly, gently but persistently trying to take USA away from a very aggressive policy towards a policy of peace.

Here the special position of Europe is that due to historical and cultural factors Europe is best in a position to influence the USA policy makers for moving towards peace. This can be said in the context of leader-level contacts and relations but this can be said even more in the context if relations and contacts at the level of people.

Keeping in view the growing hostility towards several needlessly aggressive aspects if US policies, if Europe does not support such aspects the tendency of the USA to go ahead with such policies may be much weaker.

Hence Europe must show much greater determination in standing up for peace, and explore all possibilities of also nudging, moving and pushing the USA policy makers toward peace.

In addition the peace movements and activists of Europe should become more united among themselves for making greater impact, and in addition must establish wider unity and commonality with peace movements and activists in the USA with the aim of strengthening the possibilities of world peace in general and avoiding the possibilities of a third word war in particular.

---

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include "Planet in Peril", "Protecting Earth for Children" and "A Day in 2071"

Comments

India’s climate tech ecosystem in dire need of both early, growth-stage funding: Report

By Our Representative India’s climate tech ecosystem, which boasts over 800 startups, is in dire need of both early and growth-stage funding to leverage its full potential, according to a report by Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (Ventures) and MUFG Bank , Japan. Despite a robust initial funding landscape, with approximately two-thirds of climate tech startups receiving seed capital, growth-stage investments remain critically lacking.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded reaction in the form of a link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

UNEP report on how climate crisis is impacting displacement, global conflicts, declining health

By Shankar Sharma* A recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), titled "A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing," warrants urgent attention from our country’s developmental perspective. The findings, detailed in the report, should be a source of significant concern not only globally but especially for our nation, which has a vast population and limited natural resources.

Industries fueling climate crisis draining public funds in Global South: ActionAid

By Our Representative A new ActionAid report has exposed the alarming financial drain on the Global South, as climate-wrecking industries like fossil fuels and industrial agriculture receive over US$600 billion annually in public subsidies. The report, "How the Finance Flows: Corporate Capture of Public Finance Fuelling the Climate Crisis in the Global South", reveals that an average of US$677 billion in public finance is directed toward climate-destructive sectors each year, depriving crucial social sectors such as education.

75 years of revolution: How China moved away from ideals of struggle for human liberation

By Harsh Thakor* On October 1st, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, a pivotal moment in the struggle for human liberation. From 1949 to 1976, China achieved remarkable social equality and revolutionary democracy, outpacing other developing nations in literacy, health care, agricultural output, and industrial production.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Overcoming extreme backwardness 75 yrs ago, China has 'risen to 2nd largest economy of the world'

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* On October 1, 1949, the revolutionary people of China established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by defeating Western imperialism, Japanese colonialism, and Chinese feudal warlords who unleashed a ‘white terror’ on Chinese people, communists and revolutionaries.

Search This Blog