ThirstyFish

Photograph from an Izmir protest last October.

Have you been following the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine? Ukrainian protestors managed to oust their corrupt leader after months of protests, and many "prominent" and wealthy individuals lined up to take his place. Just as the protestors were declaring victory and wowing never to allow a repeat of the cycle of corruption, the unthinkable happened. Russia invaded South Ukraine, namely Crimea. Ukraine is caught in a tug-of-war between the West, EU and the US, and the East, Russia. We saw similar outcomes in other successful social movements such as the Arab Spring, where either things went back to business as usual like in Egypt, or decayed into total chaos as in Syria. "What next?" is a big question.

Nicolas Chamfort wrote: "Anyone whose needs are small seems threatening to the rich, because he's always ready to escape their control". He is right. The emerging Second Cold War between the East and the West we read in newspaper columns these days is a Morton's fork. As far as Ukraine is concerned, the EU, the US and Russia are actually more on the same page than in conflict. Imagine that Euromaidan was a success in every way. And Ukrainians went on to build the independent, uncorrupted, and just society that they were seeking. Who would be threatened most? Global banking cartels, big business, and corrupt governments - i.e. pretty much every government these days? No power interest would allow that to happen. With almost no exception, global interests and global resources are "managed" by supranational corporations and financial institutions. All nations and their people, are dependent on these forces. "National independence" is a thing of the past.

The answer to "what next?" begins with the recognition that common people in Ukraine, in Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey, Arab Counties, Thailand and even in the European Union, Russia and the United States are all on the same boat. Hence, any solution needs to be global; We need to establish a "WorldMaidan". Any struggle less than that is ultimately bound to fail.