THUCYDIDES AND AUTHORITY
THUCYDIDES AND AUTHORITY
By Panagiotis Karafotias
By extension - and metaphorically - in the modern era, the theory of self-interest and the Trap of the wise Thucydides, in combination with power, which according to our ancient Philosophers corrupts, constitute a very important chapter in the international relations of states, a vicious circle.
It is a tragic irony that after so many centuries, the twin interests and power continue their common course unconquered and unyielding with the known results, while, supposedly, civilization and democracy would have progressed and been established. The Religious Contract and the Social Contract created conditions for peaceful coexistence and prosperity of peoples, as later International Law and International Organizations for dealing with the "Lernaean Hydra" on a global level, but the above twin interests and power undermined the efforts by using corrupt "Heracleides", who instead of cutting and burning the poisonous tentacles of the Lernaean Hydra, let them grow and increase. How many wars and genocides with hundreds of millions of human victims, plus hunger, poverty, refugees, violence, corruption, crimes, insecurity, fraud, unworthiness, social exclusion, "following the superior", misery, etc. And the leaders, especially the powerful, political, religious (it seems, the "Serpent-Devil" continued his satanic work on Earth as well) etc., within the framework of secular power, etc., have compromised and are indifferent, resulting in a serious risk of returning to a new Babel, to the Middle Ages, to the Holy Inquisition, to the Roman arenas, and to the infamous Crusades, which - unthinkably - in the name of Christ committed terrible crimes, staining His holy name with blood as well as that of the Cross.
And yet, in the tragic dilemma, in the vicious circle, International Organizations could embody the Heracleides if they had been redeemed from cruel interests and corrupt power. On the contrary, the above undermined every well-intentioned effort, as happened with the League, which refused to ban war because in the meantime the companies producing and trading weapons systems had hoarded and become a state within a state. The same thing happened at the UN, where the following ridiculous things happened: The late, unshakable Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld, faithful to his oath in the UN Charter, disagreed with the two Superpowers about the war in Congo (Lubumba affair) and went to resolve the issue himself, but was "killed" in a "Plane crash"... Later - unthinkable - ex. A German Nazi officer, Kurt Waldheim (who had also served in Greece), is elected UN Secretary-General by powerful circles of power to control him, and we saw his policy on serious issues such as the Cyprus issue, etc. Also, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan promotes his shameful Plan for Cyprus, which fortunately was rejected by an overwhelming majority by the Cypriot people! However, there were exceptions such as Boutros-Boutros Ghali with the famous Peace Roadmap, which if it had been implemented we would not have had the war tragedies that followed. They did not renew his term!... Also, Ou Thand, and Javier Pérez de Cuéllar who had said "by what right do certain powerful Powers decide on the fate of humanity?" Unfortunately for the peoples and world peace, the few Powerful have ensured the hegemony and control of the UN with the notorious Veto and sometimes act preemptively. The late, patriotic American Senator William Fulbright famously said that “it is wrong for small and medium-sized Powers to treat the Great Powers with a spirit of subservience when they should unite and impose on the Great Powers their respect for the UN”! Also, the great Historian and Philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville said that “man seeks equality in freedom, but if he does not find it, he seeks it in slavery”! Related: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”!
However, general apathy leads to a funeral. Thucydides' Trap continues to ensnare peace and peoples, and civilization and democracy continue to be a Chimera. In the absence of genuine democratic institutions, instincts prevail over values and ideals. And the tragic vicious circle continues until democratically thinking peoples react in an organized manner and choose genuine Heracleides to exterminate the man-eating Lernaean Hydra! AMEN!
*Professor P.I. Karafotias is a member of ELISME