Wars of conquest could become the new normal if unprovoked attacks like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine go unchecked, France’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs warned last week.
The invasion provides models for other aggressors in Europe, the Indo-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Catherine Colonna said Friday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The stakes are far beyond Ukraine and Europe,” she said. “We cannot afford that” to happen.
That is no shit. One of the hallmarks of the post-1945 world is that borders, however imperfectly drawn, were respected.[1] For example, Alsace–Lorraine changed hands four times in seventy-four years. But it hasn't in the last seventy-seven years. There are lots of places around the world where the borders have been disputed and the neighboring nations have not taken their disagreements to active conflict, instead, choosing to arbitrate and negotiate their differences (or just live with them).[2]
If the rest of the world does not contest Russia's war on conquest, then all bets are off.
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[1] Those whining about Israel should recall that, after the 1967 war, the Arab neighbors were offered ;and for peace. All said no. Egypt eventually said yes and, after 1970, Jordan decided that it didn't want the West Bank back.
[2] This is not true of China, of course.
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