Ukrainian Foreign Minister: The war is creating a new world

Unity between North America and the European Union has been restored and cemented. The concept of the West has regained its original meaning as Russia’s strategic decline weakens China’s alliance system. The Russian occupation of Ukraine has put Europe back in motion.

Despite the jealousy of some European countries, Ukraine became the center of the birth of the new Europe. For Europe to succeed in restoring peace and strengthening prosperity and security in the region, Ukraine must be part of the European Union, and the West in general, led by the United States.

And so it will happen. The world of tomorrow will be three-polar. Two visible poles will be the United States and China. India will strengthen its global position as a major democratic power. But the third, less visible pole will be the emerging and decentralized community of global internet users.

The future of the latter will be determined by rapid technological development and innovation. This community will focus mainly on what some already call “metaverse”. “Netizen” may sound like a fancy word that combines the words “citizen” and “network,” but it describes a historic change, and the emergence of a new global power.

Many people around the globe are investing heavily in their online lives, and are shaping their identities as “network citizens”. They now trust their online communities more than their nation states.

And they will gain more and more strength, crossing borders and transforming the world. They are already here, decentralized, self-sufficient and effective. They have great ideas and the will to move ideas forward. They are loyal and reliable followers.

But this bold new world will only be created if the surrounding environment is favorable.

That is why the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war is so important. What is at stake goes beyond a physical fight. If Ukraine is to be victorious, and it and other like-minded countries remain free to pursue their democratic ideals, the global movement towards a more empowered, freer, and borderless world will accelerate.

But if things go the other way – that is, if Russia manages to destroy freedom and democracy in Ukraine and beyond – then we will enter a gloomy world without rules and without freedom, where only force rules, and where everything else. disappears.

The war in Ukraine is already showing the world how the people of the third pillar are promoting change in 3 main ways. First, Internet users are playing an active role in defending Ukraine against Russian occupation.

For example, members of the global group of Internet hackers known as “Anonymous” have chosen to use their skills to expose the Russian government’s propaganda, and to tell the Russian people the truth about the war. Anonymous’s decision to declare a “cyber war” against Russia was their choice, not an order from any higher governmental or military command.

Second, network users are taking every opportunity to offer alternatives to what is usually offered by governments. Take, for example, the public announcement of tech billionaire Elon Musk that he would offer Ukraine the Starlink satellite internet service.

In the early days of the occupation, Starlink terminals were rapidly deployed in Ukraine, enabling an uninterrupted alternative communication system, and hampering Russia’s ability to interrupt Ukrainian communications throughout the country.

Third, the use of cryptocurrency has enabled the Ukrainian government to raise money from around the world to fund our defense efforts, and has helped to limit the ways in which Russia can circumvent financial sanctions.

Russia has attacked Ukraine with a brutal military force, which aims to destroy us as a nation and as a state. Russia’s war against Ukraine is the old war against the new.

When most of the Russian army raided our borders in the early hours of February 24, our chances seemed slim.

However, in all likelihood, Ukraine has kept most of its territory free, and has shown that experts and decision-makers were wrong. As we are seeing day by day, political leadership in this era has less to do with hierarchical state power, and more with leadership through personal example, and strengthening the voice and energy of local communities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is leading through the strength of his example and sincerity, and he does so not only with statements and orders. He is one of the people of this country, and not a distant figure somewhere at the top of the dome.

He is close to ordinary Ukrainians, posting his selfie videos, and sharing with the people of Ukraine his daily presidential routine through posts on his social networks late in the evening.

His leadership and public image are in stark contrast to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who appears on television nervously giving orders to his generals, who sit silently and obediently on the opposite side of a very tall.

This striking difference is just one example of the very large gap between the two political models: the communal future and the hierarchical past; of the existing and developing political order.

Zelensky is showing that to lead the world and gain popularity at home and abroad, it takes courage, a mobile camera to make selfie videos and sincerity, and not nuclear weapons, neither oil revenues nor state propaganda machinery.

This is the model of the future, and the reason why Ukraine will triumph, and Russia will lose. We are entering a new, unexplored terrain, a result that no one could have predicted. Those who believe that this war has an impact only on the future of Ukraine and Russia are wrong.

Its consequences are affecting and will continue to be felt around the globe, and not only in the physical world, but also online. The internet community believes that the idea of ​​a nation-state is outdated, and that the future is this new online and decentralized world.

They reject vertical hierarchies and physical boundaries. Instead of banks and governments, they rely on blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Network users can be Ukrainian, but also American or Chinese. They can remain true patriots of their countries. They can belong to the global digital community, and be proud of their identity at the same time. Network users believe that their new world will survive the bipolar world order. Chances are yes. But first, all three poles need to learn how to coexist and engage with each other.

We should not be afraid of this new “liquid modernity”, as defined by the Polish sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Bauman, but we should be open to the great opportunities it brings.

The traditional concept of a geopolitical pole requires a mobilizing utopia, an inclusive social order, and a competitive economic model. The digital world has all three. It already mobilizes large investments and resources, which are neither tied to the liberal-democratic United States nor to traditional, state-controlled China.

Of course, the new three-polar world will take some time to find its unique equilibrium that will shape the 21st century. This balance will be determined by decades of competition and tension, as well as cooperation and harmonization.

It may not seem very clear at the moment, but Ukraine’s victory in the war against Russia would further catalyze this digital transformation, and accelerate the creation of a three-polar world. On the other hand, the loss of a dynamic and democratic Ukraine in the face of an authoritarian Russia would go back in world history. We will triumph, together with those who are positioned in the moral choice of good over evil, freedom over fear and light over darkness./bota.al

Note: Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

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