Vladimir Laučius. How Lithuania overcame Belarus, China and even Russia in two years
If catharsis could strike not only man but also the state, Lithuania would already be deeply in catharsis. Because the citizens of no other Western country have been allowed to become such a work of art that is round and morally inspiring, Lithuanian foreign and security policy architects need to demonstrate.
The words of the anthem “Lithuania <...>, you are the land of heroes, ”is not about the distant past, but about the present of foreign policy. The Hipster working group, which created the slogan “Lithuania is a brave country” fourteen years ago, apparently sensed that we would remind the whole world of ourselves, either by repeating the war of Grand Duke Algirdas to Moscow or by blocking transit to Königsberg.
When Matas Maldeikis talked about the recovery of Smolensk, I was sincerely happy. It seemed that we would choose the traditional path and pulsate Moscow again. We were probably already on the right track when we were the only ones in Europe to take away ambassadors at the time, showing that we would get along with the old one alone – even without Poland.
When Matas Maldeikis talked about the recovery of Smolensk, I was sincerely happy. It seemed that we would choose the traditional path and pulsate Moscow again. We were probably already on the right track when we were the only ones in Europe to take away ambassadors at the time, showing that we would get along with the old one alone – even without Poland.
But now that we have hit the Russians in an even more sensitive place, it remains to be seen why Vincas Kudirka did not write “from the future” instead of writing “your son is looking for strength from the past”. That future is here and now, the moment when the regulation of EU sanctions and Lithuania’s legal obligations regarding transit to Königsberg are interpreted as required by our courage.
Hopefully, the escalation of the situation on the third front (with Russia) will not force those officials who explained back to us in December that China’s main challenge is cognitive dissonance.
That is what a true foreign policy, not a played one, must look like. We have lived for a long time hearing a lot about values, listening to them posting about the parties and politics in the elections, but every time we are disappointed to see what is left of those languages when speakers win the election and take over the helm of power. Because there are very few left.
How much more could it have suffered? Let us remember 2008 – the year when the wonderful slogan about “Lithuania – a brave country” was created. The Seimas elections were then won by a political party promoting a valuable foreign policy. But its foreign minister was the first to shock its constituents during its months of work, saying a new page in relations with Russia needs to be opened. In other words, love, not war.
It is a betrayal of value thinking in foreign policy. And it was probably later decided that this should not happen again. Which is very cute and definitely welcome.
It is gratifying when a political force not only knows well what it wants, but also demonstrates a certain consistency in value thinking. Not only do they manage to defend their values and values in public space as arguments, revealing and explaining the internal logic of the political worldview.
However, value attitudes can face challenges that are very difficult to cope with. One such challenge is reality. Tikkrovė. What can force a surprised voter to start asking awkward questions about the authors and executors of value policy.
And in this situation again, a strong admiration for the courage of the great foreign policy heroes should be expressed. The courage to rise up and be of the highest reality, not to succumb to its whispering temptations. After all, reality draws us to the earth and what is earthly, and values encourage us to break up and rise. Get off the ground. Break away from reality.
It is worth not only admiration but also awards. Not every political connection holds the helm of a state ship and attempts to ascend into the sky with that ship in spite of the gravity of reality. Ours are not really afraid.
And this is evidenced by far more examples of the values and attitudes of this term.
That is the conflict with China. Initially, it was decided to completely ignore the fact that in response to the opening of the Taiwanese representation in Taiwan on behalf of Taiwan, the Chinese would start an economic war that would be extremely sensitive for both Lithuanian business and ordinary consumers. But values are more important than the awkward reality that awaits.
The rulers then talked about how the losses caused by the conflict with China would be offset by the contribution of Taiwan and the United States to Lithuania’s economic prosperity. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different. China’s revenge on Lithuania this year is one of the most important factors damaging our economy, and Taiwan maintains very close economic ties with China, with which we are currently at war, and is in no hurry to invest in Lithuania.
Our value policy guidelines fall short of not only economic but also political reality. And US diplomats, and influential Think Tanks analysts who visited denied the government’s account of the alleged coincidence of Lithuanian and US positions and all political support for our Taiwan.
Representatives of Lithuanian values policy, when the Seimas delegation visited the United States six months ago, returned and explained that the United States had immediately changed the name of the Taiwanese mission, and this step would be the best proof that we had done everything well and correctly.
What do we see? The name of the Americans was not changed, and Bonie Glaser, the head of the Asian Research Program of the German Marshall Fund in the USA, who visited Lithuania a month ago, openly noticed:
“I would just urge your government to assess the benefits and risks of various actions. Sometimes a Taiwanese politician calls on my government to do things that I don’t think are necessarily in America’s interests. They may serve the interests of Taiwan, they may not serve. Taiwan, for example, has been urging the United States to change the name of the Taiwanese mission since the start of the Donald Trump administration. So far the US has not done so. And I say publicly, I don’t think the United States should allow Taiwan to change the name of the mission. “
However, the ability of value politics to break away from reality, to rise above it, and to live somewhere beyond the sinful City of Man makes it possible not to hear such remarks and to continue to adhere in principle to regulations that have nothing to do with reality.
However, the ability of value politics to break away from reality, to rise above it, and to live somewhere beyond the sinful City of Man makes it possible not to hear such remarks and to continue to adhere in principle to regulations that have nothing to do with reality.
Not only that, it allows state leaders to tell their constituents: “We are the first in the European Union to dare to challenge China on Taiwan.”
It’s very much like a lie. Because you can be the first unless there is a second, a third, and the last. And when there is neither the second nor the last, you are not the first, but simply the only one. And when you are the only one, there are basically options for assessment: either only you are smart and everyone else is not, or – two can.
Valuers choose the first option. Because they are very brave, as already mentioned.
Their policy towards Belarus was also bold and allowed or ignored reality. “I do not doubt that the protests will be revived. We should not take the temporary break as a sign that the protests are over, “said one of our foreign policy leaders last March.
These statements by him are a good reflection of the relationship of our valuable foreign policy to the truth. His first statement is that he did not even doubt that the mass protests in Belarus that we saw last year should have been revived last year. Are they reborn? No, not reborn. And was there reason to doubt that they would be reborn? It really was. That’s why he didn’t doubt it? Because no doubt such things are very bold and valuable.
“We should not see the pauses as a sign that the protests are over.” (Although it happened: the protests ended). Why is it worth telling us what and how we should evaluate? And why are such assessments being blatantly contradictory? Because reality is the seed of the devil. You need to push as far away from yourself as possible – along with the mind that naturally opposes it.
We also became the only ones in Europe on the war front with Russia. The only one who recalled the ambassador. Have we helped Ukraine in any way? Is it very important to her now? For her easier? No. But as the knights of our values policy would say, we are “first.” As with Taiwan. The second and third are not there at all, but we are the “first”.
Some say we could have been more cautious in seeing how the EU sanctions regulation correlates with the exemption for Kaliningrad transit. But … And to whom? After all, there is a win-win: the Russians get the dream they wish, and we have the historic opportunity to be at the forefront of NATO’s Eastern Front. We are the first.
There is nothing left to add about the transit of Königsberg in this context. Some say we could have been more cautious in seeing how the EU sanctions regulation correlates with the exemption for Kaliningrad transit. But … And to whom? After all, it’s coming out to win: Russians get a dream pretext and we have a historic opportunity to be at the forefront of NATO’s Eastern Front. We are the first.
Seriously, the most important question in this situation is not even the application of sanctions for transit to Königsberg and their interpretation, but the title of Raimundas Lopata’s latest article: “How will we defend every centimeter of Lithuania?” And what it says openly:
“It turned out that at the military level we are not prepared for the geopolitical reality … Even after the annexation of Crimea, there must be so much time and even basic infrastructure for the reception of NATO troops. What was it – sabotage, negligence? Maybe who of the former and the present will say – I am guilty – and explain? How did it happen that part of the weapon bought so far did not work? ”
That is the reality. And it would be courage for the “first” on the three war fronts immediately (with China, Russia and Belarus), when the issues of state security were sharply intertwined and Politico wrote about Lithuania as the most dangerous place in the world. Courage is about values; the reality is no.
That is why we follow the rules: reality is for ourselves, values are for us. That is the formula for our new foreign and security policy. Algorithm of “brave country” operation.
And it is good that there are political forces that have the courage and principledness to think and act in this way and not the other way around and to follow the chosen path. After all, we live in a democracy where citizens can choose what to vote for. Yesterday – selected.
It will therefore suffice to lament and whine about the mismatch of value policy with someone’s expectations. Let us be more positive and celebrate democracy. Or, as is said in the internal life of the controversial armies, let us not resist and try to experience pleasure.
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