By CAIO BUGIATO*
The “doctrine” of war until the end of the Washington summit materialized in the Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory, in the province of Kursk
1.
I have insisted on two theses on NATO. First, it is an expansionist, not a defensive, political-military international organization. Within Europe, its number of members increased from 12 in 1949 to 32 in 2024 and outside the Old Continent, its partnership programs currently reach around a hundred countries around the world. Furthermore, NATO has historically pressured its members to invest 2% of GDP in defense, a mark achieved by 23 of them.
Second, its primary objective is not to guarantee the defense of its signatories, but rather to prevent the emergence and demolish any form of non-aligned power, capable of competing with or posing a threat to American supremacy, mainly and its smaller European partners. This was the case with the USSR in the 20th century and in its main military operations (outside Europe) in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Libya. Its organization and objective have behind it the very dynamics of the expansion of the capitalist (neoliberal) mode of production – generator of an imperialist Western chain – and the destruction of obstacles to this.
NATO speeches and documents carry a kind of ideological clause when affirming the commitment to defending values such as democracy, individual freedoms and respect for the law. Now, they are abstract principles that do not specify content – what type of democracy?; what individual freedoms?; What is the nature of this right? – and are left up to interpretation. These are principles identified with Liberalism, which normalizes capitalism as a natural state of human life, in which liberal democracy and the market economy are superior institutions, freedom is aimed at individuals from the dominant classes and the law is the inegalitarian one that favors its activities.
Furthermore, these principles when applied in international relations would supposedly result in harmony and peace when all states followed them, which would form a cooperative and stable system. For this system not to be threatened by states that did not follow them, it would be necessary to take them to them, often through “just” wars.
2.
NATO's last summit on its 75th anniversary, held in Washington between July 9 and 11, 2024, did not deviate from this political line. His final statements, Washington Summit Declaration e Statement of the NATO-Ukraine Council welcome new members Finland and Sweden and highlight the continuity of their global partnership programs: Partnerships for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.
(Re)establish Russia as the main threat and other enemies such as Belarus, China, Iran and North Korea:
“Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shattered peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and seriously undermined global security. Russia remains the most significant and direct threat to Allies' security. (…) Iran's destabilizing actions are affecting Euro-Atlantic security. The People's Republic of China's (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies continue to challenge our interests, security and values. The deepening strategic partnership between Russia and the PRC and their mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut and reshape the rules-based international order, are a cause for profound concern”.
Furthermore, they praise the increase in the Organization's military capacity and emphasize its nuclear strength:
“Nuclear deterrence is the cornerstone of Alliance security. The fundamental purpose of NATO's nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression. As long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance.”
And they commit to Ukraine's integration into NATO and military, humanitarian and financial aid of 40 billion euros per year. As other analysts have said, such documents can be read as a true declaration of war, at a time when Russian superiority on the battlefield is evident.
The failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive at the end of last year promoted mistrust and a reduction in aid from the Americans, as shown in the graph below. However, the Russian advance revived Western efforts (of which the summit in Washington is one of them), also on the battlefield, as shown in the map below.
European and US military, humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine
Ukrainian attack on Russian territory
The “doctrine” of war until the end of the Washington summit – which has the Ukrainians on the front line – materialized in the Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory, in the province of Kursk. At the beginning of August 2024, the governor of Kursk admitted that an area 12 kilometers long and 40 kilometers wide, with 28 cities, was under Kiev's control. Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced to the cities of Nikolayevo-Daryino and Oleshnya.
The Russian region is under a state of emergency, troops have been deployed and security measures have been reinforced around a nuclear plant. Western analysts are optimistic and say the incursion is a turning point in the war. Considering the failure of the counteroffensive and the problems of the Ukrainian armed forces in the face of all the help from NATO, this incursion is not just an effort to divert efforts from the main battle front, but rather it is NATO itself in Russia, the first time that foreign troops have entered Russian territory since the Second World War.
* Caio Bugiato is a professor of Political Science and International Relations at UFRRJ and in the Postgraduate Program in International Relations at UFABC.
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