Putin’s Crusade of Democratic Relativism…has Bush’s Support?

In his State of the Union Address last Monday, President Vladimir Putin laid out a political agenda for Russia that aims at not only countering America’s military power (by establishing a military alliance with China for example) but also challenging the accepted wisdom that American-style democracy is best for all nations. Moreover, Putin’s speech follows a line of recent initiatives that make it plain that he is determined to lead the only credible challenge to American global hegemony (just as his predecessors did not so long ago).

To this end, as documented in a recent article, Putin has consolidated authoritarian control over his country and insists, without a hint of irony, that his “reforms” are consistent with democracy – Russian-style. In addition, he is reasserting Russia’s sphere of influence over former Soviet Union satellite states – undaunted by his well-publicized setbacks in Georgia and the Ukraine.

But Putin is not limiting the spread of his Russian-style democratic reforms to these satellite states. In fact, he took his crusade to the Middle East this week. And there he gave aid and comfort to Iran, Egypt and Syria by assuring them that he supports their reluctance to implement Bush’s democratic reforms – implying that his democratic philosophy might be more suited to their authoritarian rule.

Nevertheless, Putin saved his most dramatic pitch for his historic visit to Israel. Indeed, in a diplomatic coup akin to Nixon going to China, Putin stood his ground as he proclaimed that his foreign policy initiatives were just as consistent with democratic principles as President Bush’s. For example, Putin declared that his support for Iran’s nuclear program and his sale of sophisticated arms to Syria (countries both religiously dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state) are just as democratic as Bush’s support for Israel’s nuclear program and his sale of sophisticated arms to Pakistan. (And, as far as symmetry goes, he has a point!)

Of course, one can understand Putin’s antipathy towards the transformative power of American- style democracy, and why he would want to do all he can to make authoritarian rule seem democratic. After all, American-style democracy led to the fall of the Soviet Union that he now laments as the greatest catastrophe of the 20th Century. Indeed, it is a measure of Putin’s antipathy that he ranks the loss of the Soviet empire as a greater tragedy than Stalin’s murder of millions of Russians (presumably as he consolidated his Russian-style democratic rule), Hitler’s extermination of millions of Jews or Pol Pot’s massacre of millions in the killing fields of Asia. And, he maintains his position despite the fact that almost every world leader considers the demise of the Soviet Union perhaps the most liberating event of the century.

If nothing else, Putin’s lamentation should give Bush cause to take another look into his soul. Because the last time he did, Bush declared he saw a friend and fellow democrat. But now, he has to wonder whether he missed the little beelzebub sitting on Putin’s left shoulder dressed in red with horns coming out of his head.

For his part, Putin seems convinced that Bush has no power (or desire) to stop him from restoring Russia’s “old ideals [that] were destroyed” with the fall of the Soviet Union. Indeed, Bush seemed to endorse Putin’s perverse approach to democracy when he reiterated in his press conference last night that he still has faith in Putin as a democratic reformer. (Just as he remains convinced that the Saudis have love in their hearts for America….)

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