By Anjan Roy
World Economic Forum’s Davos dalliance of world leaders, both political and corporate, has become a widely recognised event. However, an even more critical and certainly highly prestigious pow-wow happened last week. This is the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in the eponymous German city held on February13 to 15.
The annual Munich Security Conference —MSC— which has emerged as the most influential and high decibel security circuit platform globally has witnessed a sort of rapprochement between allies USA and Europe.
If last year’s MSC was a sort of disaster and whiplash event, this year’s MSC was sought to be painted as a more friendlier occasion.
At last year’s conference, US vice president J.D. Vance, had “stunned” his European audience with some stark reminders of its utter failure to take care of its defence requirements. Vance had also reminded Europe that it was close to a “civilisational erasure” from its thinking and policies.
Following the Vance speech, for a year the Europeans and the Americans, the closest allied since the end of World War Two, were drifting apart. USA had threatened that the Americans would no longer underwrite Europe’s defence.
At this year’s conference, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, struck as far more conciliatory note, saying that US and Europe “belong together”. He went so far as to say, America was a child of Europe. Rubio’s speech was “soothing” to the Europeans after last year’s thorough dressing down from J.D. Vance.
Possibly on a Valentine’s Day, Marco Rubio could not afford to alienate the continent which was once described as a “mother country”. But Rubio was careful to also point out that Europe should reset its values —the civilisational connect— which had forged the two together. Rubio came up front to state that America was Europe’s child.
After all, what is America without Europe — it does not have a history beyond 250 years, it does not have a literature behind it, nor does it have the European architecture or music or even for that matter history of wars.
These Americans, Trump, Vance, Rubio and their ilk consider European heritage is theirs too. And they want to preserve that heritage, seeing it was under threat faced with large scale Muslim invasion into Europe’s mainland. Consider the history syllabus of any of the Ivy League universities and you will European political history, European social developments and even European empires are the studies they offer in meticulous details.
Professor Donald Kagan of Yale University, a doyen of Greek historiography, proudly proclaims European democratic tradition descends directly from Greece.
Lecture series on Roman Architecture studies archaeological sites in Italy and Rome, in particular, like the back of one’s palms — every surviving architectural remains are examined in detail and you will probably end up as the best guide to Rome.
Architectural specimens from the Roman and Greek ruins have been avidly copied in the new buildings and homes of the super-rich and famous of America. A beautiful architectural piece, preserved immaculately in Pompei by an enveloping layer of volcanic ash from nearby Vesuvius was faithfully copied in the home of Paul Getty.
The Americans are trying to export their philosophy of White Supremacy — in the European lingo it is European Supremacy — into the states of Europe. This is what the Trump species of Americans are seeking to spread. There are those leaders who already are converted into thin on their own — Hungarian PM Victor Orban or Slovakia’s president.
By and large, Marco Rubio stuck to the underlying basic difference in approach between European liberal states, as represented by French President, Emmanuel Macron, British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, German chancellor, Fredrich Merz, among others.
American values, namely, Christianity, respect or Europe’s heritage rather than “shame”, and above all, restricting immigration to prevent what the Americans had called Europe’s “civilisational erasure”. These values if rather distant for the ruling elitist, were the basic crucible for Europe’s rightwing opposition politicians.
The difference between the Americans and the Europeans on their respective orthodoxies thus remain stark, though in the address of Marco Rubio these were put in a suave and consoling manner compared with the stark and jerking tone of the US vice president. This was the divergence between Donald Trump’s America and traditional America rather than any transition in Europe as such.
Nonetheless, the Americans had continued to insist on Europeans taking greater responsibilities for their own defence rather outsourcing it altogether to the Americans. It was a reminder of the transactional nature of the relationship where the old continent was expected to take on more tab for their own defence than America underwriting the costs.
The thrashing has in many ways done good to Europe as well. The European countries have been shaken to the bones and redo their basic thinking away from the past mental habits of depending on the Americans.
In the new scenario, Britain’s Sir Keir Starmer has spoken of a more vigorous reconnect between UK and European Union after exiting the integrated European common market some ten years back. Britain had mooted the idea of tying up with the rest of the world, than tying itself down with EU.
The other Europeans are also now talking more of greater collaboration among themselves, outside of US circles of collaboration. European common army is also in the air as also joint commands among the Europeans.
If anything, Trump’s talk of ending Greenland for itself, and the threat of using if in case the military option was needed for this purpose appears to have galvanised the Europeans.
Of course, at the end of the day, the Russia bear had struck fear among the Europeans and they had realised how vulnerable the continent was to Russian aggression. As if to keep the Russophobia alive, the Europeans today issued a joint statement about the murder of Russian opposition leader, Alex Nalvalny.
They had affirmed that south African dart frog poison was used to kill the Russian opposition figure while incarcerated in a prison in Siberia two years back. (IPA Service)
