This is pretty interesting:
The defining characteristic of the early 21st century can best be described as; “The Empires Strike Back.” This is all about the four empires (Russian, Chinese, Iranian and the Islamic Caliphate) that are trying to reconstitute themselves and causing trouble for each other and the rest of the world in the process. ...
Another problem with all these imperial wannabes is that cultural diversity has long been a source of internal problems and trying to absorb more minorities is a sure recipe for eventual failure.
It's a good reminder for those eager to blame America for the actions of those following scripts written long before we were a nation.
But the list of empires trying to form leaves out one that I worry about--the European Union.
Granted, the post was about former empires trying to reform. So that doesn't include the EU which is trying to establish an empire by smothering rule-making authority and a common currency where other Europeans tried by force to unite Europe. But it is an empire of diverse ethnicities trying to form and which will harm the world if actually formed:
I am no fan of the European Union proto-dictatorship project. I think it will be a disaster for the United States and lead to the loss of democracy in Europe. Europe will become a Soviet Union Lite that will be neutral at best, selling arms to our enemies; or hostile, ending a century of our policy that has prevented an opponent from organizing the continent's resources against us.
And that cultural diversity is a means to creating that empire:
Why should the Brussels bureaucrats care if they ignore Belgians or Flemish and Walloons? Hell, the more the merrier. If larger states have difficulty moving the central proto-state, how will little specks on the map have any impact at all? Only the nation-states smart enough not to subdivide will retain any influence at all. But they will likely be swamped by population numbers. And who will be smart enough to resist the lure of their own flag!
There could be a Flemish Oblast and a Walloon Oblast to join with scores of other administrative entities.
This is classic divide and conquer.
Consider this incentive to divide a feature of the European Union rather than a bug. The Brussels transnational elites will laugh all the way to their new undemocratic empire while the silly people atomize their once-influential nation-states into little ethnic theme parks.
Let the people have their postage stamps and flags, the EU overlords likely think! The power will lie in Brussels, and who will be large enough to stop them?
A mature EU empire will not be good for the West. If you think a unified Europe will be better able to resist Russia, guess again. The EU's military power will be required to focus inward to keep the empire of cultural diversity together under Brussels' control rather than defending the exterior borders.
We aren't there yet, fortunately. Which is why even this proto-autocracy has an appeal to Ukraine when the alternative is the Russian Empire.
