New tension is beginning to develop between the United States and Russia due to Russia’s recent acts to take over the Crimean Peninsula. Russia has, using an ideology called orderism, supported this as an act of self-defense. Orderism claims that liberal democracy and international law have had negative effects on the West, such as decadence and moral weakness. Orderism warns that these two things could lead to the downfall of an empire, as it has previously done.
Orderism believes that the West has fallen to moral weakness and decadence due to open borders. By having open borders, traditions may no longer as sacred because they can easily shift and change depending on the movement of people. Leniency in Western borders has also led to various things, such as the free sale of marijuana and changes in marital law. In some cultures, change is seen as progress and is positive; however, these changes are seen as threat in orderism, which values stability over democracy.
Russia has used this orderist worldview to say that securing the Crimean Peninsula is an act of self-defense. By having Crimea as part of its territory, Russia would be able to expand its Navy ports, increase military spending, and hold exercises along Russian-NATO borders.
Located near the Black Sea, Crimea is legally part of Ukraine. The territorial integrity of Ukraine was upheld by Russia in a memorandum, which was signed in 1994 by Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Within Ukraine, Crimea acts an autonomous republic, having its own parliament and prime minister. Its current Prime Minister is pro-Moscow and has called for a Crimean referendum to be due on 16 March. This referendum will vote on whether Crimea should join and become a part of Russia.
This has caused tension between the United States and Russia. B-52 bombers have returned to the catalog of planes used by the United States military. These bombers were last used in the Cold War, so one can wonder, will the developing tension lead to another Cold War? In the previous Cold War, communism was juxtaposed to democracy. Now, orderism is juxtaposed to democracy. Democracy supports change as designated by the people, while orderism instead believes in stability.
In previous years, during the Cold War, each side raced each other to build the newest technology and weapons. Due to this, there were many advancements in nuclear weapons, such as with the creation of the hydrogen bomb. The hydrogen bomb had a very large radioactive zone, but now there are new advancements in “low-yield” weapons, which have a small target zone in order to minimize civilian casualties.
With the looming possibility of a new cold war, nuclear weapons, and the upcoming election, the United States voting population must consider what is occurring on the international stage. Only the President is authorized to launch nuclear weapons. Therefore, on top of whose views voters most agree with, voters must also now consider who they trust most with the responsibility of deciding on nuclear launches.
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