It’s all happening at once: Russia is attacking Ukraine, China is “cancelling” Hong Kong and threatening Taiwan with maneuvers, pro-Iranian militants are fighting in the Gaza Strip, Serbian President Vucic is flexing his muscles near the border. with Kosovo. Authoritarian regimes are testing how far they can escalate the situation. Despots need conflict to stay in power. They have nothing left to offer their people.

Whether in Russia, Serbia, China or Iran, the militaristic posture aims to divert attention from the country’s backwardness, maintain the power of this or that “national leader” and hide the contempt with which it treats its people. Otherwise, there is a threat that people will start to complain about the deplorable equipment of hospitals, nursing homes and schools, the lack of sewage in many settlements, the miserable wages and pensions.

If the country is in a state of conflict, all responsibility for that is transferred to external enemies. And criticism of the blatantly enriching ruling clique is ruthlessly suppressed. Corruption is a system-building component, an individual person in the eyes of politicians is worthless and can only serve as cannon fodder, as it has been for several years in eastern Ukraine.

A new age of barbarism?

By attacking a neighboring country, Russia has declared war not only on Ukraine, but on the entire civilized world. The outcome of this battle will determine how other authoritarian regimes behave in the future. Will they respect international law and comply with international treaties? Or will a new era of barbarism begin, when the law of the strong will operate exclusively? Anyone who wants to stop the world from descending into chaos must help stop warmongering Putin, improve Taiwan’s defense capability and eliminate pro-Iranian terrorist groups wherever they are – in the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Lebanon or Syria.

Authoritarian regimes have never made a secret of their rejection of a law-based world order. In democracy, they see a threat to themselves, as well as respect for human and minority rights, freedom of the press, and the legal state. Despots invoke international law only when it suits their interests.

The West maintained commercial contacts with such regimes for many decades. Many European politicians today wonder how Chancellor Angela Merkel could have been so naive in allowing such a high dependence on Putin when importing gas. China, in turn, has become Germany’s most important trading partner. And this despite the fact that there was never any doubt about the brutality of the regime in Beijing. How can German politicians and captains of industry be so gullible as to throw themselves into Beijing’s arms? His greed seems to be more than a sense of responsibility. “The bourgeoisie will even sell us the rope with which we hang them” – so, they say, predicted Lenin.

Putin miscalculated

Since the end of the Cold War, the global balance of power has not changed in the dictators’ favor. Day by day, Putin’s Russia shows examples of military incompetence in Ukraine. It is a myth that authoritarian rulers think in terms of long-term political categories and therefore, they say, are superior to the myopic West. Quite the opposite. Putin made the decision to attack Ukraine suddenly and in complete ignorance of the hatred with which his soldiers would be greeted by the Ukrainians. Putin is a player. And he miscalculated. But he cannot admit his mistake if he wants to survive politically and physically.

Henceforth, the West is unacceptable to weaken further. Furthermore, Germany needs to build up massive armaments over many years. If Greece, Russia or Iran can allocate four percent of GDP to defense purposes, so can Germany. Europe – along with the accumulation of conventional weapons – must also develop a nuclear arsenal. Only then will it be taken seriously in Moscow, Beijing and Washington.

Putin has challenged the West – as have many Kremlin rulers before him. Stalin and Hitler also despised the Western world, especially when they were allies from 1939 to 1941. At that time, the USSR provided Hitler with massive assistance with food and raw materials, thus helping him to wage war against France and Great Britain. Brittany. But in the end, the supposedly “degenerate” West won. So it was in the Cold War. So it is now, when the West is winning the hearts of many young and educated people who are forced to live in states with authoritarian regimes.