Reply With QuoteOffering soup to Irish during the famine for conversion to protestantism was a sanction that in the long run, left a lot of resentment towards the monarchy & whigs in particular. We could just say English.Originally Posted by Nineteenx
Often they don't work as intended and just entrench support within their own against the enemy, and defectors.
Outside the eu/nato alliance they don't think ye have much authority anymore. Lots of army power and economic might, but not a moral leg to stand on.
Like the South African example stated is where a minority was being targeted. Today there's some element of retribution going on over there. Russians, Iranians, Chinese etc aren't minority ethnic governments.
If a large majority are pro-russia it's going to be very hard to convince them otherwise with sanctions.
It's also unlikely to be like Afghanistan where the taliban gladly took us arms to fight the soviets.
In the Eastern regions those folks mostly identify as Russian. Holding the west would be far more difficult along the Afghanistan line.
Russias army isn't as well equipped as nato/eu&allies to hold middle Eastern nations or Western Ukraine.
But they're strong enough to give it a go unless it escalates with nuclear alliances.
Also these nations are aware of the sanctions policy and prepare for them. By some reports preparing for sanctions and safeguarding their economies has actually seen their economies improve as a side effect.
When a play becomes predictable it loses its effect. Like if I'm expecting to be starved out, I prepare, whereas when I don't expect it, I'm unprepared.
In many ways the world's wealth has resided in Western Europe, America, Canada etc.
Within these nations a dominant ideology has emerged largely speaking and around the world not everyone wants to have to be a london/newyork/berlin/california/Paris model citizen to get some soup as a result of being deemed a decent human being by their superiors.
China, India, Russia, Brazil, Islam, Africans all have their own opinions on what is better.
They can see how nations and cultures can be consumed/modernised into those of their masters.
Take soup good, lose identity bad.
Looking at the global scene and health indicators the rest of the world is somewhat booming, whilst the west is in decline to a degree or two.
One of the brexit aspects was opening up trade with the rest of the world as it is where growth is occurring and new markets emerging.
China by some metrics is a paper tiger, and in others is an almighty force. Training as many engineers in a year cycle as the USA has in its entirety. Lots of import relations and a big manufacturer. Building 150 nuclear plants in the next 25ish years.
These nations are looking at a post Western order. The Chinese have ran big trade surpluses against America. They've a tonne of dollars in reserve and watch America via the petrodollar just print tonnes more reducing the value of their reserves. They are not gonna tolerate a world where the west is always right and printing money willy nilly to fix problems in the short term.
They save dollars and then see their value plummet as a result of printing more.
Most of these nations, including Africa ones and South American, can see how China has operated a eu like policy of buying up countries without the political union. But they see better terms and are aware that the bigger dog will always get the bigger bone. So better terms are preferable.
China and the rest of the BRICs are perceived very differently outside the west.
China's power is noticeable. Since being opened up to trade by Nixon they've grown significantly.
Routinely Xi, just gets called President Xi. Whereas the other 3 routinely have descriptors attached to their names. Far right Bolsonaro & Modi, Thug Putin though he gets more variability with descriptors.
These nations are fed up by the condescension from their higher class nations.
In ways the west looks like a post-christian, woke order intent on converting the world to its ideology. An ideology driven through institutions, corporations and an effectively a minority of public support.
If you think the Western ideology is best, fair enough. But a soup kitchen for conversion seems a little tasteless to the morally inferior.
It's almost like a cool teen ideology presented a she pinnacle of human civilization.
I remember bono having a concert in Dublin with his 360 degree stage. There's a curfew for the resident in the area on work and noise. He needed to have us work all through the night and worked around the prior agreement. As part of his performances he'd bring out folks calling for the freeing of the Myanmar lass. She got the keys to Dublin City and a Nobel Peace Prize. He and Bob demanded action.
After she got in power, well woopsies. She defended herself against genocide charges and locked up journalists.
In a way that encapsulates Western diplomacy, as I see it.
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