Slovakia recently elected a nationalist/left-wing political majority, led by Peter Pellegrini, the new president-elect. Pellegrini’s party Voice – Social Democracy received 37.03 percent in the first round of parliamentary elections, losing to Independent candidate Ivan Korčok’s 42.51 percent victory. However, in the second round, Pellegrini created a coalition with the right-wing nationalist party S.N.S. (Slovak National Party) securing a majority of 53.12 percent. There are concerns that the alliance with the nationalist party will orient Slovakian foreign policy away from Western Europe and closer to Russia. He immediately ceased arm-shipments to Ukraine, sparking protests along with his backing of a government coalition that would undermine the rule of law. The Guardian quotes Pellegrini saying that “the European Union and NATO were divided between those who are in favor of the continuation of the war at all costs, and those who demand the start of peace negotiations.”
Before discussing this political phenomenon the proposal of peace between Russia and Ukraine needs to be addressed. The same question was addressed in a Chatham House article, featuring the opinion of conflict negotiator Pierre Hazan who explained in detail the challenges of obtaining peace in a multi-polar world order. He conceptualized the challenge as the struggle between justice and peace and the increasing fragility in peace agreements. Negotiating with Russia would force Ukraine to make territorial and military concessions, making Ukraine dependent on Russia as well as making it impossible for Ukraine to make decisions independent of Russia. The other concern that Hazan spoke of is the fragility of agreements. Due to the new geopolitical actors, mediation is fragile due to participants forsaking deals when they no longer see the personal benefit. So if negotiating was possible, Ukrainian sovereignty would be sacrificed along with a Russian government that cannot be trusted. How to give Russia what it wants while maintaining European security would also be difficult to negotiate.
Political ideas similar to those in Slovakia are not unique and can be seen across the political spectrum. With the challenges described above about how there would be difficulties negotiating with Russia, at this point in the war an effort should be made to find a solution that will stop the conflict. The total number of troops injured and killed has reached 500,000 (New York Times) and the cost of supporting Ukraine is only going up. Western leadership needs to ask themselves what can realistically come of the current trajectory and if it is worth the human cost. Anti-establishment political parties, on the other hand, need to realize who is better and worse. Russia is still a threat and Europe needs to be prepared militarily. This military preparedness does not mean hawkishness and should signal to Russia that they are open to discussing peace. Right-wing political parties need to take Russia as a threat instead of a country to emulate.
The convergence of the right and left in the Ukrainian war has been an interesting development across the Western political spectrum. The horseshoe theory developed by political philosopher Jean-Pierre Faye might help to understand this phenomenon. This theory suggests that there are more similarities between the far-right and left than with centrist or moderate political parties. If we are to abide by this theory then it is the anti-establishment positions of both the left and right that lead them to criticize the mainstream political parties/leadership.
Dissent is part of democracy and to a certain extent, political coalitions like the one in Slovakia represent the opinions of the citizen body. This dissent needs to be taken seriously insofar as it states that peace should be prioritized. The temptation to seek justice against Russia might overshadow how prolonging a conflict against nuclear power is not strategic for anyone. Where these parties need to be criticized is their ideological motive and attempts to use power irresponsibly. If Putin thinks that it is only a matter of time before enough anti-establishment parties are elected until Ukraine is left with little to no aid then he will wait until Ukraine lacks the support it needs to launch a counteroffensive against a depleted nation.
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