Democratic Peace Theory and Oil: The West's Hypocrisy

With the collapse of the Soviet Union (USSR) and its satellites in Eastern Europe, it appeared that history was over and liberal democracy would be the new world order. Francis Fukuyama’s celebrated book “The End of History and the Last Man” ushered in this new era of peace on earth and the triumph of liberal democracy over any and all forms of totalitarianism, Fascism, Nazism and Communism. They were dead and buried and would not be missed. Alas, it was not to be.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s look at what was supposed to be the triumphant new order and what really happened.

The “new world order” a term first used by President George H.W. Bush (Bush 41) after America and its coalition partners’ spectacular victory In the First Gulf War reached its apogee during the presidency of his successor, Bill Clinton. The new order for the victors of the Cold War was now called “Liberal Hegemony” and under its guiding principles, a new, and better world would be created and a Pax Americana would lead all to peace, prosperity and democracy; the new norm. The three principles of liberal hegemony were democratic peace theory, free trade, and the leading role of international organizations, namely the United Nations (UN) and its subsidiary organizations.

With the collapse of Soviet social imperialism and the establishment of democratic governance in the former “peoples” and “socialist” republics and the devolution of the USSR into its many constituent republics, now independent, the world faced new challenges. Many of these countries had little or no experience with a government responsible to its citizens. Those with political experience were the former Communist nomenklatura who quickly seized power in the name of “democracy”.  America was present as the liberal hegemon and expended multi billions in aid to these new independent nations, including Russia, the major successor state of the USSR which now claimed its seat in the UN Security Council. Now led by a former candidate member of the Politburo of the All Union Bolshevik Party (Communist), miraculously transformed overnight into a democrat, the stage was set for massive kleptocracy never seen before. Boris Yeltsin, the Russian Federation President was considered a hero in the West; in an effort to protect his family and the kleptocrats (aka oligarchs) he engineered the election of a former KGB functionary, Vladimir Putin, as president. Putin shrewdly did not state his true objective, namely, the restoration of the glory and territory of the former USSR, now knows  as the Russian Federation.  The West, well enamored with its delusions of liberal hegemony and a Pax Americana also failed to recognize the rise of the ugly face of nationalism throughout the world. The USSR, pretending ideologically an “internationalist” line suppressed nationalism both domestically as well as in its satellites.  The USSR suppressed all nationalism with the exception of Great Russian nationalism. Rising nationalism not limited to the former Communist satellites now spread throughout the entire world. No nation was exempt and the nationalism of the Arab and Islamic world would prove particularly problematic.

Putin himself played the nationalist game expertly. While masquerading his true intentions he pursued a policy which aped that of Hitler and Nazi Germany. It was Russia’s “duty” to protect Russians wherever they were. The Russification policy of the former USSR made certain that there were Russian nationals in all of its constituent “republics” and that their first loyalty was to Moscow. All local Communist Parties had locals as heads but the number two position was always held by an ethnic Russian who was the real boss. With the end of the USSR, millions of ethnic Russians were now stranded all the way from the Baltic states to Uzbekistan and the Caucuses. Mother Russia did not forsake their ethnic comrades and did not forget the boundaries of the former USSR. Under Putin, Russian armed forces have been busy in Georgia, and most violently in Ukraine, where it previously seized parts of Crimea and now, in violation of all principles of international law and laws of humanity and decency daily commits acts of brutality, violence and genocide in that country. The so called United Nations (UN), true to its legacy as the successor to the lll fated League of Nations does nothing. All must remember Emperor Haile Selassie’s speech to that organization in which he warned that small nations were at the mercy of powerful ones and that the League must react or others will suffer the same fate. No one listened and no one cared. Ethiopia was just a warm up for the German rape of Europe and World War II. The UN today may not yet be on its death bed, but the handwriting is on the wall. Those who still believe in the UN might be advised to wake up before it’s too late. Eager supporters of Putin’s imperialist policies include Iran, China (PRC) and North Korea. All of these states utilize extreme nationalism and are dangers to not only to their own citizens but to world peace as well. Moscow today is torturing Ukraine. The Baltic states, with large ethnic Russian minorities may be next on the list, and as this blog has warned many times, Putin’s ultimate goal is a land bridge to the disconnected Kaliningrad Oblast (former Koenigsberg and East Prussia) through Lithuania and Poland. Of course, Russia is a major supplier of oil and gas to the EU;  that organization is hindered in any response to Russian adventurism due to its failure to achieve unanimity in arriving at a unified policy regarding dealing with Russia and its behavior.

China, under the leadership of Xi Jinping has in recent years pursued a  policy of imperialism and Han Chinese nationalism. The Muslim Uyghur minority of Xinjiang faces ultimate extermination as they undergo “re-education” in PRC concentration camps. The world is silent, including the ordinarily vocal Muslim Umma as renminbi and business take first place in their hearts. The human rights records of North Korea and Iran are abhorrent to all civilized people yet again, total silence as moral relativism is philosophically acceptable to much of the world.

One can only wonder what, in the twenty-first century, civilized nations would think of Nazi Germany and its extermination camps and the Stalinist USSR and its Gulag.

The particular archetype of cynicism, of course, is the European Union (EU) and in particular some of their leading nations whom I will not cite in this essay. The EU, which seeks to promote itself as some sort of moral voice ridicules itself and any belief in Democratic Peace Theory by its sell out for oil.  Democratic Peace Theory, first enunciated by President Woodrow Wilson stated that democracies don’t start wars. The almost unanimous EU support for terrorist organizations and their genocidal action against Israel and Jews gives the lie to any EU pretense to believe and support liberal democracy.  Democratic Peace Theory should require them to support an attacked democracy. However oil, sovereign wealth fund investments and virtually unlimited money (in the billions) take precedence.  Democratic Peace Theory is dead. International organizations are dying and the idea of liberal democracy as a successor to various forms of dictatorship is fighting for its life. The result is far from certain.

Eternal vigilance remains  the price of liberty. And each nation and its people will have to pay that price if they desire to be free. It remains the responsibility of each nation’s nationals to fight for their own freedom. No one else can or will do it.

Garry S. Sklar

At sea in the Atlantic Ocean

November 17, 2025