In case you missed it, Vladimir Putin just declared liberalism obsolete and Russia clawed its way back into one of Europe’s key liberal institutions.
The Kremlin leader’s remarks in an interview with the Financial Times that Western liberalism had “outlived its purpose” came at the G20 summit in Japan, just days after Russia was readmitted as a full voting member of the Council of Europe’s Interparliamentary Assembly. This may appear contradictory. But in fact, it isn’t. It is all actually illustrative of the ongoing systemic conflict between Putin’s autocratic regime and the Western liberal institutions—and how that conflict is actually playing out inside those very institutions.
Listen to the Power Vertical podcast as Brian Whitmore and Donald N. Jensen discuss this Trojan Horse strategy and consider how it may be working, at least for the time being.
Photo: By the Kremlin under CC BY 4.0.
Podcast Audio Clips: Audio of Russian President Vladimir Putin by the Kremlin under CC BY 4.0.
July 3, 2019
The Power Vertical is a CEPA podcast covering the Kremlin for Kremlin watchers. All opinions are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.
