A nationwide network of bunkers once became a symbol of Albania, emblematic of the paranoia devolving into the main driver of a state’s foreign policy. Today, this is the path many European politicians are carving out for their respective nations.
History offers examples of entire nations suddenly veering off the normal developmental trajectory and going bonkers on their neighbours. But while it used to be the case with smaller and weaker states, now it is fast becoming widespread across Europe, which was never prone to the siege mentality typical of the American national identity.
These days Europe is eerily reminiscent of Albania of the mid-to-late 20th century when the country was under a dictatorial rule. Its biggest accomplishment was building hundreds of thousands of defensive fortifications at its borders.
Adopted in the early 1970s, the plan to set up 200,000 bunkers across this small Western Balkan country was being implemented up until the late 1980s. As a result, those bunkers scattered nationwide have become nothing short of an Albanian national symbol. But it is also emblematic of the paranoia devolving into the main driver of a state’s foreign policy. Today, this is the path many European politicians are carving out for their respective nations – and the progress has thus far been quite impressive.
Several days ago, the EU’s chief bureaucrat Ursula von der Leyen visited Finland. The trip was followed up by her social media post extolling the rate at which the country had built 50,000 underground bomb shelters to protect itself against Russia’s potential ‘aggression’. A couple of years back, both news stories were unthinkable: the Finns repurposing their whole country as a fortress and the EU politicians praising the uncanny transformation. But believe it or not, they are not alone.
The Baltic states have been consistently threatening to erect walls at the Russian border coupled with hundreds of bunkers or defensive lines. The German has recently commented on the defence ministry’s plans to build shelters and allocate emergency food rations in the event of a war against Russia. The French have so far refrained from making any such statements, but that is probably due to the government’s lack of funds and the declining national economy whose numbers are now on par with those of Southern Europe.
But what is going on? There seems to be a number of reasons. Europe’s political systems are going through an extremely rough patch. And that extends well beyond the ongoing erosion of traditional political parties that are getting increasingly supplanted with populists like Emmanuel Macron or the Finns Party. The entire EU order is currently in a downward spiral as it seeks to convince the citizens that the present state of affairs is the most equitable and just.
The money is tight to afford this endeavour. Europe’s capacity to earn the neocolonial rent off the rest of the planet have been shrinking dramatically. The reason for that is China whose might creates alternative revenue sources for economically disadvantaged African and Latin American countries to sustain their citizens. Another reason is Russia whose military and political capabilities have risen to a point where they offer the former European colonies a shot at robust support.
Finally, the whole world has ‘contributed’ to Europe’s tragic plight just because its bustling development can no longer be controlled by Europe’s withering capabilities. As for the Americans, caring has recently been diminishingly less about sharing. Far from it, they have been pressuring Europe into bankrolling its opportunistic overseas projects like aiding the Kiev. Hence the European ruling class’s urge to shoehorn the citizens into a cramping high-alert siege mentality.
Their earliest notable experience came in the 2010s as Europe began to be flooded with refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Then the mobilisation mechanisms were fully deployed during the Covid-19 lockdowns. At the time the Europeans, barring the likes of Swedes, were placed under house arrest and their ties to the outside world were curbed. However, the Swedes did not have to be restricted as their lives imply substantially restricted individual freedoms courtesy of the traditional Scandinavian communal mindset.
The harsh lockdowns were further exacerbated by the lack of choice of vaccines to get their jabs done. The centralised procurement campaign was marshalled by none other than Ursula von der Leyen, which later sparked the corruption allegations. The experiment must have been deemed a resounding success so that the current Ukraine conflict is being used by European policymakers to further strand the hapless citizens within the confines of the Eastern ‘bunker strategy’.
Regular Europeans are indeed fearful of and clueless about the dynamic seen in the rest of the world just as their elected or unelected leaders are. Over the several decades that followed the end of the Cold War, the consciousness of many EU citizens has undergone an interesting change in that it has been rendered incapable of establishing cause-and-effect relationships. Incredibly, many still believe they are living in a ‘nice garden’ surrounded by the ‘jungle’. Those who beg to differ are decried as weirdos or, worse, dangerous pro-Russian turncoats.
It is indeed hard to tell if it has to do with a certain rewiring of the brainwashed consciousness. Whipping up a siege mentality is no ordinary task unless it is rooted in objective reality. The Americans’ mindset has been shaped by the country’s islandic geographic location. Even the film industry inculcates the kids with two major concepts: one of omnipotence and the other one of being surrounded by dangerous enemies.
In Europe, it used to be different. That being said, Europeans have always been arrogant towards other nations. With regards to Russia, it is mostly a phobia, that is, fear laced with contempt. As for the rest of the world, it is pure contempt. But now it is being diluted with fear as experienced by an ailing strongman towards those he used to be lording over.
Following the Cold War, most European politicians and thinking persons realised they were doing something wrong. Yet, the lacking ability to maintain their revenues without preying upon the rest of the world was pushing the policy whose rationale was questioned by Europe’s foremost intellectual. The Europeans have all along realised this strategy is a recipe for disaster, and this has been prompting them to buckle up for the confrontation caused sheerly by their own stance.
Consequently, the Europeans were ready to begin shielding from the outside world. In the 2010s, they would be launching patrol boats in the Mediterranean whose job was to scare away or even sink the dingy refugee boats. Then they denied entry to those who were vaccinated with something other than the jabs approved by the matchlessly corrupt EU officialdom. Now they have moved on to building bunkers and bomb shelters along the Russian borders.
Europe has been trapped in the maze of its own missteps and, so far, sees no way-out. And this blindness has been precipitated by the decades-long refusal to challenge its own policy. Understandably, its sole path right now is following a flimsy narrow corridor towards new bunkers and fortifications strewn all over the map.
The Russian diplomacy is now voicing its willingness to restore the fruitful relations with its European neighbors. That being said, a distorted political worldview and public consciousness endemic in Europe will take time to heal.