Why Russia and China Will Not Cooperate to Intervene in Syriahttp://nblo.gs/yZ51V
9:06 AM - 20 Jun 12 via NetworkedBlogs · Details
Why Russia and China Will Not Cooperate to Intervene in Syria
June 20th, 2012 by Dean Foster | Discuss This »Russia and China both seem to be the stumbling blocks for the UN and the world to move forward with any real, intelligent action to end the massacres in Syria and bring down the Assad regime. It’s well recognized that unless Russia and China step back from their support of Assad, it will be impossible for the UN or other world bodies to react appropriately to end the violence. Why is it, then, that Russia and China both have refused to get out of the way, at the least, and at best, to join the rest of the world and support efforts to end the insanity in Syria?
There are a set of complex reasons, of course, many political, economic and social, but underlying all is the cultural DNA of both Russia and China that predictably insure their refusal to step back from their support for Assad. Most specifically, I am referring to the cultural gene in both countries that produces an almost paranoid sensitivity to anything that could possibly be interpreted as an effort by outside influences (read, nations) to meddle in the internal affairs of the Great Russian People and the Great Middle Kingdom.
Mir in Russian means many things, including peace and village. And much of Russian history is the story of protecting the mir to insure the peace. Surrounding the village with garrisons, encircling the mir with troops; Russian history is the story of protecting the heart of Russian identity, the mir in the forest, always surrounded by foreign enemies believed to be intent upon invading themir at any opportunity.
The Great Middle Kingdom of China also saw and sees itself through this prism of protective and invading circles, like ripples on a pond, with the center of this middle being the heart of the Chinese identity; the unknown, secretive Imperial Chamber, protected by the Forbidden City, with the rest of world circling around it.
For both countries, this paradigm makes outsiders and their actions suspect, justifying the need to keep them at arms’ length, and creating a heightened sensitivity to interpreting any action by outside interests as a threat to internal sovereignty and security. While most nations will bristle and protect themselves against outside intervention, Russian and Chinese culture tend to interpret foreign behavior persistently through this lens. It should be no surprise then that Russia and China both will not support foreign initiatives to involve themselves in internal conflicts of nations, when it serves their interests to do so. And so the violence will continue in Syria until the world decides to intervene on its own without China or Russia. The question is: Can it do so without the support of the Great Russian People and and the
