If you think about Bernie Sanders and foreign policy, probably the first thing that comes to mind is his enthusiasm for left-wing Latin American dictators. Understandably, Bernie wants to change that. He is promoting a big idea: that we are reliving the 1930’s, and that America needs to lead the fight against oligarchs and right-wing strongmen all over the globe. Is he right?
The analogy isn’t completely absurd; after all, Steve Bannon views the thirties as a golden age of nationalism, illiberal democracy and right-wing populism are all the rage, and Putin and Xi appear to have counterparts from the thirties. Analogies are never perfect, however, and this one certainly isn’t, for the following reasons:
1. PUTIN ISN’T HITLER: Sure, he is a thuggish revisionist who wants to expand his country’s sphere of influence and make Russia great again. He’s far more cautious about using his military, however–hence, the stalemate in Ukraine, and the lack of action in the Baltic states. Oh, and there are no death camps in Russia; the country is much freer than it was during the Soviet era.
2. XI ISN’T STALIN: Yes, he’s building a digital police state and locking up Uighurs, but he’s not murdering millions of people, and there is far more freedom, at least in the economic sphere, than there was in Mao’s time.
3. ILLIBERAL DEMOCRACY IS NOT EXACTLY FASCISM: It’s close, but the illiberal democracies in Europe haven’t threatened anyone outside their borders, and they still pay some attention to the EU and provide a degree (albeit diminished) of political and legal freedom. They have to; they’re economic and security beggars.
4. OLIGARCHS DIDN’T CAUSE THE EROSION OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY: Right-wing populism is a mass movement; it isn’t just a distraction created by the wealthy to protect their economic interests, any more than fascism was in the thirties.
5. WHERE DO BOJO, MACRON, AND MERKEL FIT IN THIS SCHEME?: They’re genuine democrats, but right-wingers. Does Bernie consider them friends or foes? It’s hard to tell.
6. THE THIRTIES BAD GUYS WERE OVERCOME BY MILITARY MIGHT: Bernie wants to cut the defense budget and rely purely on diplomacy and moral force to promote American interests and democracy. How did that work out last time?