Through the ages the West has always felt a paramount (some might say desperate and certainly unhealthy) need for a real or a perceived enemy in order to thrive, Contra Magazin argues. At the moment it has chosen Russia to play this role.
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"Human thinking is two-dimensional. There must always be two sides: the good and the evil, light and darkness, communism and capitalism, the East and the West," the Austrian media outlet noted, pointing to the second half of the 20th century as a prime example.
The Cold War era offered a crystal clear worldview: communism was the enemy in the minds of Western policymakers. The decades-long standoff ended with communism significantly pushed back. It was not defeated and its remaining bastions, including Cuba, China and North Korea, still stand. But they pose no real threat to the West, the website asserted.
Yet, "the economy, the alliance and even the politics of expansion need an image of an enemy," Contra Magazin observed. After the end of the Cold War communism could no longer serve as a pretense to justify Western military buildup and a global presence.
When looking for an enemy or someone to paint as one, "new old adversary is the preferred option," the media outlet stated, adding that Russia could not fit the profile better since the West has long perceived the undefeated Russia as its ultimate archenemy.
The rising Russia is fostering closer ties with its partners in BRICS. It has created what could be viewed as an alternative to the Western-dominated economic institutions. The West, according to Contra Magazin, sees these successful initiatives as a "threat to its well-being," even though they are not intended as such.
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