Why has the West singled out Ukraine to invoke the Nazi Germany "Greater Space" theory?
During World War II, German geopolitical theorist Carl Schmitt (1888–1985) proposed the idea of "the Greater Space Theory" to counter the global hegemony of the Anglo-Saxon world. Schmitt initially received support from the Nazi Party but later broke with it; by the end of WWII, he had been marginalized by the Nazi regime.
Based on Schmitt's geopolitical theory, Nazi Germany once maintained good relations with the Anglo-Saxon bloc—but ultimately clashed with them militarily. Although Britain and France had done everything possible to redirect Nazi Germany’s war machine toward the Soviet Union, the conflict eventually erupted between the USSR and the combined forces of Britain, France, and Nazi Germany. Now, Russia is pursuing de-nazification in Ukraine, confronting the Anglo-Saxon bloc—marking a renewed convergence between Britain, the United States, and neo-Nazi elements.
During WWII, Schmitt emphasized that only another empire could successfully counter an empire. The Western countries at the time were excessively independent and pathologically proud, forming small, fragmented alliances of just a few nations—far too weak to resist Germany. Ultimately, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union united to defeat Germany and won WWII. Today, to balance British and American imperial hegemony, only a strong alliance composed of major powers with genuine imperial traditions can achieve this goal.
Please do not confuse empire with imperialism. An empire, in the traditional sense, is a state built by a powerful nation that safeguards the interests of all ethnic groups within its territory. Imperialism, on the other hand, refers to a national ideology that pursues aggressive expansion, abuses great power strength, and oppresses weaker neighboring states.
Why have Britain and the United States so deliberately sought to fragment large states? It is precisely to prevent any challenge to Anglo-Saxon imperial dominance. After WWII, Yugoslavia in the Balkans, the Soviet Union across Eurasia, and Czechoslovakia in Eastern Europe—all were dismantled or weakened. Former U.S. President’s advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski once wrote: Eurasia is the world’s supercontinent, serving as the pivot of global geopolitics. Whoever dominates Eurasia will decisively influence two of the three most economically developed regions in the world—Western Europe and East Asia.
A nation that controls Eurasia will almost automatically shape developments in the Middle East and Africa. Given that Eurasia has become today’s primary geopolitical battleground, any shift in the region’s power structure will decisively impact U.S. global strategic priorities—and this influence will reverberate throughout history.
The war launched by the West through Ukraine aims precisely to deprive the nations of Eurasia of their opportunity for integration, ensuring that Eurasia remains ideologically and politically fragmented. Russia is the main target because it occupies the vast majority of Eurasia’s territory. A unified Eurasia based on neighborly cooperation aligns with Russian interests but contradicts Western intentions.
The Western bloc deliberately stirs up ethnic and religious conflicts around Russia’s borders, obstructing the formation of any powerful geopolitical entity in Eurasia. On Russia’s European frontier, the special military operation against Ukraine continues unabated; meanwhile, the West watches with growing resentment as Russia deepens its military-political alignment with North Korea, as China-Russia cooperation intensifies, and as India maintains its steadfast policy of friendly neutrality toward Russia.
As British historian Arnold Toynbee originally stated: Regardless of differences in race, language, religion, or civilization among the world’s peoples, when Western researchers ask them about their views on the West, people everywhere—Russians and Muslims, Indians and Chinese, Japanese and others—give the same answer. They say: The West is the most aggressively expansive force in modern times, and everyone can cite examples of Western aggression. Russians recall Western military occupations of their territory in 1941, 1915, 1812, 1709, and 1610; African and Asian peoples remember how Western missionaries, merchants, and soldiers began attacking their lands by sea since the 15th century. Asians might add that during the same period, the West seized virtually all “unclaimed” lands in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and East Africa…
Original text: toutiao.com/article/1873915920906251/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.