Decline period

Why Western politicians are difficult to trust and problematic to negotiate with

In recent years, officials in the countries of the ‘golden billion’ have turned into characters of puppet shows, appearing on stage to repeat sets of slogans that only they need. These people seem completely unconcerned by either the decline in voters’ trust in them or the threat of their careers collapsing. One might think they live in some parallel reality, ignoring the logic of objective development processes. Why is this impression forming, and how true is it?

Power of oligarchs

If you look closely at the behaviour of Western elites, it is easy to conclude that many of them act very rationally, effectively and successfully when it comes to personal interests. A prime example is President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who — despite corruption accusations involving the multi-billion dollar purchase of dubious vaccines — managed to survive a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament.
French President Macron, with an unprecedentedly low approval rating and waves of protests against his policies, is not even considering his resignation, deftly occupying the position of ‘arbiter’ between the disputing parties. The country’s descent into a systemic crisis does not particularly affect his actions. 
There are many such examples. The question arises: how is this possible?
The logic of the functioning of the European Union’s political system allows identifying several key factors that explain what is happening.

Firstly, the Western model of democracy is a hidden power of the oligarchy, which aims to destroy the welfare state.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the powers that be in the West, having dealt with an alternative social project, decided that sharing income with the rest of the citizenry, even within their own countries, no longer made sense. As a result, social standards of living began to decline. Recently, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz openly stated at a party conference in Lower Saxony that ‘Germany’s welfare state is no longer financially sustainable’.

Evading responsibility

Today, the role of the invisible management centre is occupied by transnational corporations. They finance various political parties, which at first glance compete with each other. Yet, this struggle, in reality, is not between different social governance models, but between representatives of the same political class for the right to enter a well-paid circle of people who control public funds. Thus, all of Western European politics is a carefully staged performance, put on by teams of professionals who possess the techniques of manipulation and propaganda.
Behind the curtain of this performance unfolds a non-public real politics, which is determined by the interaction of financial and industrial elites. It is they who impose their will on the ‘elected’ party figures.
The well-being of Starmer, Macron, Merz and others depends not on the voice of the people, but solely on their ability to effectively and unquestioningly serve the interests of the powers that be.

Here we are talking about the second factor of the Western governance model — the regular change of power has become a universal mechanism for evading responsibility.

Broken chain of continuity  

In the last century, holding elections was seen as a crucial mechanism, compelling rulers to focus on the needs and desires of ordinary citizens, thereby harmonising the interests of the rich and the poor. This was also done to ensure that society regarded electoral processes as the only ‘civilised’ instrument for influencing power. Subsequently, through mass culture and the formation of the ‘mass man’ on this basis, management centres began to reduce the real participation of citizens in state affairs.
These efforts bore fruit. Politics is considered a ‘dirty business’ in the public consciousness and, the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States or the Gilets Jaunes protestors in France are viewed as excesses of marginal elements.
All these transformations have opened up a unique loophole for those in power to ‘evade responsibility’. They all know that they will most likely be admitted to the political Olympus for no more than five years, sometimes a little longer. During this time, they strive to secure a comfortable existence for themselves and their families, and then move to some foundation or a prestigious corporate position as a reward for loyal service to the interests of the transnational oligarchy.
This model has also spawned another consequence, which is becoming fatal for the entire system of international relations. Each new leader has the opportunity not to be responsible for the obligations of their predecessor.

Therefore, the third essential point of the current time is that the continuity of power in the countries of the collective West has been broken — hence the inability of politicians to reach agreements.

Culture of deceit

These days, there is little point in coming to any medium- or long-term agreements with the EU leadership in particular. No one can guarantee that commitments undertaken will be honoured. Any agreements will be valid, at most, for the period that the politician who concluded them remains in power. Their replacements, after the next electoral cycle, can easily revise previously reached agreements.
There are few actors in the Western political establishment who can be held accountable for their words or the fulfilment of their commitments. Therefore, one trend dominates there today: ‘the gentleman observes the rule as long as it benefits him, and when the benefit disappears, the gentleman changes the rules’.

As a result — and this is the fourth conclusion — a culture of deceit is becoming the main instrument of Western diplomacy.

This refers to a system of behaviour in which politicians deliberately distort information. Their task is to come up with any arguments, replace a rational approach with emotional assessments and push through the desired decision. A culture of deceit arises when rules are used not as a basis for co-operation, but as a tool of power to achieve one’s own goals. Thus, lies become a weapon, used not only to destroy the very idea of the existence of truth, but also to create chaos.

Global majority

Now we are talking not just about a crisis, but about the terminal stage of decline of Western civilisation. This is an objective process and it cannot be stopped. The course of history is inexorable. Yet, the collapsing world order is still dangerous.
All this determines the logic of action of the Global Majority countries. At summits, such as the SCO, structural transformations are worked out, which are due to objective geopolitical processes: the shift in the centre of gravity of the world economy to Southeast Asia, the destruction of the dollar hegemony as a universal instrument of payments and savings.
It is obvious to everyone that the collective West will not be waited for. Its time is irretrievably passing. Desperate attempts by the ‘golden billion’ countries to preserve their privileges, threaten or manipulate only repel the states of the Global Majority. This has happened more than once. It is no coincidence that smart people advise rereading Plutarch’s historical chronicles dedicated to the processes of the collapse of the Roman Empire.

PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY 

The Union State of Belarus and Russia, the SCO, BRICS and some other associations strive to create geopolitical and economic blocs with enormous ‘gravitation’, capable of attracting other countries. An attractive model of relations is proposed based on sovereign equality and adherence to common standards of international law. The priority is a multipolar world, common economic development and a fair system of global governance.

By Andrei Savinykh, foreign policy expert