Negotiations?
Should Anti-War activists give legitimacy to U.S. and Russian domination of Ukraine?
Which way forward for Anti-War activists?
People who hate war usually support diplomacy. They see it as the alternative to fighting. But is it?
Competitive belligerent parties do not sign treaties because they desire peace. They sign treaties when they feel it is to their advantage. Diplomacy is not an alternative to war. As Van Clausewitz said “War is politics by other means”. Likewise, diplomacy is war by other means. When they use diplomacy, sit down at peace talks and sign treaties, they are pursuing the same ends as they were when they invaded countries, imposed sanctions, and slaughtered thousands.
The world is made up of competitive states seeking their own economic, political, and military interests. The structure of international relations is based on the structure of the economy, capitalism. As Marx said, the capitalists who run the corporations and states are a “band of hostile brothers” They are quite willing to unite against workers and the poor. They are glad to help each other squeeze out as much profit as possible by working us harder and paying us less. They are brothers in exploitation.
However, they are hostile to each other. Each corporation and each ruling class want to beat the others to the biggest payoffs. When economic crisis sets in and competition gets intense, they are willing to fight each other militarily. The large powers, the imperialists who dominate regionally or internationally, use their economic, diplomatic, political, and military power to dominate the rest.
If we oppose imperialist powers imposing their will with force, we should also oppose them dominating with diplomacy. If we would not support their military goals, why should we support their diplomatic goals? Supporting their diplomacy legitimizes their military intervention.
UKRAINE
In the current war in Ukraine, anti-war activists should not support the goals of either Russia or the U.S./NATO. We should not support their desire to negotiate over the heads of the people of Ukraine. The people of Ukraine should have the right of self-determination. If Russia wins, Ukraine will obviously lose that right. If the U.S. wins, it will dominate Ukraine and absorb it into the Western Bloc. If Russia wins, it will become a stronger regional imperialist. If the U.S. wins its international imperial power will rise. It will be more able to impose its will and drive for profit around the world. Those opposed to war and imperialism should oppose both solutions. “Neither Washington nor Moscow”
What should anti-war activists demand?
The anti-war movement has no control over any government. We are not able to tell governments what strategies to use. We cannot control their negotiations. Our only lever is to demand as loudly and strongly as possible that all imperialist powers pull out of the war on Ukraine. We should demand that Russia withdraw and end the war. We should demand that the U.S./NATO stop intervening and stop sending arms. During the Vietnam War the anti-war movement in the U.S. and among the U.S. military was finally able to force the U.S. out. The U.S. signed a treaty when it saw it was losing but the treaty only ratified what the U.S. felt it had to do. The anti-war movement never accepted the right of the U.S. to negotiate over the fate of Vietnam. We should follow that example!
There is one other important advantage to this strategy: The anti-war movement in the U.S. will help stimulate the anti-war movement in Russia the stronger and more independent it is. If Russians see that we won’t accept the U.S. diplomatic or military right to control Ukraine, they are less likely to buy Putin’s propaganda.
