Actually you’ve made a good point. The ‘western’ standards and illusions that I have been referring to are not intrinsically western — that is merely their manifestation both in this specific circumstance, and in global-historical terms. The root phenomenon, however, is power. All centres of power-consciousness will attempt to disseminate values and standards that favour themselves and turn accidental or contingent qualities into virtues, or eternal truths. The shared delusion known as ‘Russia’, for instance, is certainly no stranger to the discourse that elevates state-based interests above those of e.g. Chechen separatists. This is why Edward Snowden had such difficulty finding a safe haven: his actions struck not just at the US government but at the perogatives that all states have assumed and wish to extend in perpetuity. This is why, despite the great service Edward Snowden rendered to the world’s citiziens, it took a very particular and rare kind of nation — one with both an interest in poking the United States in the eye, and the strength to endure the consequences of doing so, to take him in. And even then, Putin made Snowden’s stay conditional on not doing anything further to destabilise the system in which Russia, too, has so much invested. Germany, in contrast, despite owing so much to Mr. Snowden, wouldn’t lift a finger for him — because Snowden, being possessed of ideals transcending the nation-state, is a threat to Germany as well.
I guess I agree with most of the above.
So powerful countries like to stay powerful and will do whatever it takes to stay top-dog, and that includes a full-spectrum media propaganda process, the bullying of small neighbours, and tit-for-tat diplomatic exchanges. There is nothing new here Rii. All such powerful countries, which exist both today in most of recorded history, are and were guilty of unduly exerting their influence and power (both soft and hard). All of such countries came from all of the five inhabited continents too…
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