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How Putin Permanently Strengthened the European Union
Despite the belief that the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, is a “master strategist” his disastrous full-scale invasion of Ukraine has not really worked out according to plans.
Ukraine is on track to become an EU country, Sweden and Finland have been accepted into NATO, the European economies have invested significantly more in their militaries, and for two years most of the EU nations have felt notable resolve against authoritarianism.
Putin changed Europe in a myriad of ways. There is no doubt about that. In ways, Putin strengthened the liberal international order and thus revealed just how poorly he understands Ukraine and its allies.
Let me explain.
With Brexit in 2016 and a similar threat coming from France where the right-wing populist Marine le Pen threatened an identical exodus if she were to find the French election, the European Union was put into doubt.
Various “exit” campaigns arose across the EU from Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Greece, Italy, and countless more. Most countries wanted an exit strategy because of the rampant disinformation campaigns that came out as a result.
These came primarily because of the Greek crisis and the Syrian refugee crisis of 2015. More recently, other threats put the…
