Ideological Fundamentalism in International Politics

Professor Glenn Diesen

Ideological fundamentalism refers to when ideology convinces the public that politics is a struggle between good and evil. People no longer assess states based on what they do in the international system but on the political identities assigned to them.

Kenneth Waltz, the godfather of neorealist theory, observed that Western democracies had a proclivity toward ideological fundamentalism. Waltz wrote:

“Citizens of democratic states tend to think of their countries as good, aside from what they do, simply because they are democratic... democratic states also tend to think of undemocratic states as bad, aside from what they do, simply because they are undemocratic”

Citizens of democracies also think of their countries as being more peaceful because they are democratic. Because it is believed that democracies are more peaceful and less likely to start wars, it has laid the foundation for “democratic wars” as invading non-democracies to make them democratic is believed to make the world more peaceful. Western democracies have subsequently committed themselves to perpetual war with the promise of delivering Kant’s perpetual peace.

Ideological fundamentalism is to some extent embedded in human nature as human beings are social animals that have organised in groups for tens of thousands of years for security and meaning. Human beings instinctively organise into the in-group (us) versus the diametrically opposite out-groups (them). The out-group as our opposite reaffirms our own identity – we can only identify as white if there is black, only west if there is east, only civilised if there are barbaric, only democratic if there are authoritarians, and only good if there is evil.

The in-group of “us” is mobilised, and solidarity is ensured by organising around narratives that us versus them are defined by good versus evil. During times of peace, the individual is permitted to stray from the group, and it is more likely that we also humanise our adversaries.

However, in times of conflict, we instinctively retreat into the group for security, and the barriers between the in-group and out-group are strengthened. Any individual deviating from the group by, for example, attempting to understand the out-group is immediately met with suspicion and punished. This is a feature of human nature, although ideology amplifies it. The consequence is that we exaggerate what unites us with allies, and we exaggerate our differences with our adversaries.

Ideological Fundamentalism versus Reason in International Security

The international system is defined by international anarchy, which means that there is no one centre of power that monopolises on the use of force. As a consequence, each state must arm itself to be safe and states engage in security competition as security for one state is often insecurity for another.

The rational decision-maker recognises that more weapons do not always result in more security; rather, the security competition must be reduced by also reducing how we threaten others.

This can be achieved through mutual understanding and trust building, which requires that we place ourselves in the shoes of the opponent to understand their security concerns. This is not out of charity but the recognition that reducing the security concerns of adversaries will reduce their need to arm themselves and respond to threats. Mitigating the security competition between various centres of power laid the foundation for the modern world order and diplomacy at the Peace of Westphalia.

The concept of “indivisible security”, suggesting that the security of all states is intrinsically linked, was once upon of time common sense and the foundation for international security. In the West, we no longer discuss the security concerns of Russia, China, Iran or other states on the ever-growing list of countries that are considered to be adversaries. Efforts to understand the security concerns of the out-group are interpreted as sympathy and treason. Loyalty to the in-group is proven by repeating mantras of how “we” are good and peace-loving and “they” are evil and dangerous. Failure to adapt to Manichean narratives and language implies that you are not part of the in-group.

The consequence of ideological fundamentalism is thus the inability to mitigate the security competition. The irrational decision-maker will convince himself that our weapons and military activities are good, non-provocative and defensive, while the opponent’s weapons and military activities are belligerent, threatening and intended for aggression. Our security strategies have been organised around the idea that freedom and democracy relies on the perpetual dominance of the West.

Looking at how our opponents threaten us only tells half the story, and such a limited analysis undermines our security. Without the ability to mitigate the security concerns of the opponent, we are only left with the security strategy of deterrence, containment and defeating our adversaries. This sounds very familiar because this is what security for the political West has been reduced to.

The West is engaged in a perpetual war that entails constantly threatening and attacking other states, interfering in their domestic affairs, toppling governments, occupation, expansion of military blocs and deployment of offensive weapon systems. Yet, to suggest that other states may consider us a threat is met with contempt and interpreted as support for the enemy. Our intentions are benign, and our actions are virtuous by supporting selfless objectives and values. Meanwhile, it is always assumed that our opponents are driven by evil intentions. Their actions are never a response to what we have done; they always appear in a vacuum and are driven by their belligerent nature and bad values.

Ideological Fundamentalism from the Past to the Present

In 1982, the famous American diplomat George Kennan warned against what reads as a perfect definition of ideological fundamentalism, which he argued had set the West on the path to war. Kennan wrote:

“I find the view of the Soviet Union that prevails today in large portions of our governmental and journalistic establishments so extreme, so subjective, so far removed from what any sober scrutiny of external reality would reveal, that it is not only ineffective but dangerous as a guide to political action. This endless series of distortions and oversimplifications; this systematic dehumanization of the leadership of another great country; this routine exaggeration of Moscow’s military capabilities and of the supposed iniquity of Soviet intentions; this monotonous misrepresentation of the nature and the attitudes of another great people ... this reckless application of the double standard to the judgment of Soviet conduct and our own; this failure to recognize, finally, the communality of many of their problems and ours as we both move inexorably into the modern technological age; and this corresponding tendency to view all aspects of the relationship in terms of a supposed total and irreconcilable conflict of concerns and of aims: these, believe me, are not the marks of the maturity and discrimination one expects of the diplomacy of a great power; they are the marks of an intellectual primitivism and naïveté unpardonable in a great government… Above all, we must learn to see the behavior of the leadership of that country [the Soviet Union] as partly the reflection of our own treatment of it. If we insist on demonizing these Soviet leaders—on viewing them as total and incorrigible enemies, consumed only with their fear or hatred of us and dedicated to nothing other than our destruction—that, in the end, is the way we shall assuredly have them—if for no other reason than that our view of them allows for nothing else—either for them or for us. ”

The year after, in 1983, the world almost came to an end. NATO launched its Able Archer military exercise, which led the Soviet Union to believe they were under attack, and a nuclear war was almost triggered. President Reagan made the startling realisation that the Soviets had security concerns about NATO’s military activities, and Reagan wrote in his biography:

“Three years had taught me something surprising about the Russians: Many people at the top of the Soviet hierarchy were genuinely afraid of America and Americans... I’d always felt that from our deeds it must be clear to anyone that Americans were a moral people who starting at the birth of our nation had always used our power only as a force of good in the world”.

It is deeply concerning that the president of the US did not appreciate that the country against which the US fought a decades-long Cold War and pointed thousands of nuclear weapons against would consider the US a threat. It seems absurd, but what has really changed? Does the West put itself in the shoes of its adversaries today?

After the Cold War, the US strategy for unipolarity or global hegemony was legitimised by its liberal democratic values, which would be a force for good in the world and benefit all of mankind. NATO expansionism was the manifestation of hegemonic ambitions, and NATO also frequently refers to itself as a force for good in the world. NATO can, therefore, not comprehend why any power would consider it a threat. NATO as a military bloc expresses the objective of security through dominance, disrupts nuclear stability with strategic missile defence, expands to the East, and invades other countries that never threatened it. Yet, NATO considers itself a community of values, and fear of NATO is brushed off as a fear of democracy. It is absurd, but this is the mantra that everyone is obliged to repeat to demonstrate their loyalty to the in-group.

To suggest that Russia has legitimate fears of NATO is dismissed as paranoia, propaganda and repeating Kremlin talking points. The argument is that Russia should welcome NATO marching on its borders as this will bring democracy, peace and stability – and China should also be happy that the US ensures freedom of navigation along its coastline. With ideological fundamentalism being unopposed in the ideological hubris after the Cold War, it is reasonable to ask is our leaders have abandoned reason.

Narratives of the Ideological Fundamentalists

The most common explanation for any of Russia’s reactions to NATO expansion is to dismiss it as simply wanting to restore the Soviet Union. The most common evidence for President Putin’s desire to restore the Soviet Union is that Putin believes the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest tragedy of the 20^th century – with no more context seemingly being required.

This allegation is repeated by politicians, media and academics, yet it is deeply flawed. In the speech, Putin argued:

“we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century. As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and compatriots found themselves outside Russian territory. Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself. Individual savings were depreciated, and old ideals destroyed. Many institutions were disbanded or reformed carelessly. Terrorist intervention and the Khasavyurt capitulation that followed damaged the country's integrity. Oligarchic groups – possessing absolute control over information channels – served exclusively their own corporate interests. Mass poverty began to be seen as the norm. And all this was happening against the backdrop of a dramatic economic downturn, unstable finances, and the paralysis of the social sphere.”

Later on, as Putin was asked to elaborate on his comments, he responded: Anyone who doesn’t regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants it restored has no brains.

Putin's speech, a key evidence to support the narrative of a desire to restore the Soviet Union, is evidently not as it represented to the manipulated Western audience. When the context and facts do not fit with the narrative, the ideological fundamentalists do their bit for the “good fight” by ignoring reality.

The Language of the Ideological Fundamentalists

Ideological fundamentalism also supports the development of a new language consisting of simplistic binary language of good versus evil to either give legitimacy or deny illegitimacy. Our interests are framed as the advancement of good values, while the illegitimate interests of our adversaries represent the opposite.

In the competition for dominance during the Cold War, the US was the “leader of the free world”, while the Soviet opponent was an “evil empire”. After the Cold War, the US argued that its enemies were “evil-doers”, adversarial states were part of an Axis of Evil, while the US was a crusader for freedom.

The US attempt to replace Russia as an energy provider to Europe was framed as countering the “Russian energy weapon” and instead spread America’s “freedom gas” and “molecules of U.S. freedom”. The US and Russia pursued the same objective, but they are nonetheless not comparable as one is good and the other is evil.

George Orwell referred to it as newspeak, the creation of a new language that makes it impossible to express and even think anything in opposition. “Gunboat diplomacy” as the intimation of other states is now “freedom of navigation”. We do not pursue dominance and impose our dictates, we negotiate from a “position of strength”. We do not support torture, but we have “enhanced interrogation techniques”. We do not do subversion, we have “democracy promotion”. We do not support coups, we support “democratic revolutions”. We do not invade countries anymore, we have “humanitarian interventions”. We do not expand a military bloc that redivides the continent, we have “European integration”. The EU does not have a policy to establish a sphere of influence, it has a policy to establish a “ring of friendly well-governed states”. It is still obligatory to refer to NATO as a “defensive alliance”, even as it attacks countries that has not even threatened the military bloc.

During the Ukraine War, a summit was organised in Switzerland, where the stated objective was to mobilise support for Ukraine and defeat Russia. At the meeting, the President of Poland called for decolonising Russia by breaking it into 200 states. We called it a “peace summit”, even though Russia, as the opposing side, was not invited, Russian security concerns were not discussed, and the topics of ceasefire and peace were also not on the agenda.

The comfortable alternative reality is dangerous self-deception. The ideological fundamentalists are more prepared to engage in aggressive means as they believe they are pursuing the peaceful ends of a new peaceful world. Raymond Aron wrote in 1962:

“Idealistic diplomacy slips too often into fanaticism; it divides states into good and evil, into peace-loving and bellicose. It envisions a permanent peace by the punishment of the latter and the triumph of the former. The idealist, believing he has broken with power politics exaggerates its crimes”.