Putin's Invasion of Russia: The Politics of Invasion and Intervention

 What light can an old philosopher, like myself, shed upon a global event such as the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and the Russian Army? Most philosophers begin by identifying key concepts that shape human political behavior, such as: leadership, followership, military invasion, industry, politics, defense, external intervention, economic sanctions, and national and global media responses. Let's start with the puzzle of leadership and followership. How does an aspiring leader, like Putin, rise to power in Russia and maintain that power, without inspiring political opposition? Evolutionary Politics (as an academic discipline) acknowledges several facts. First, worldwide, the overwhelming majority of high-level political leaders, corporate leaders, and military leaders are all older men. Soldiers who follow military leaders are mostly young men, who need a reliable paycheck to support their families. Historically, soldiers are either drafted (involuntarily) or enlist (voluntarily), or both. Self-interest disguised as honor is the primary motivator for obeying leaders. Thus even "good men" participate in military atrocities, that violate the longstanding principles of "Just War Theory," especially the deliberate extermination of non-combatants, including women and children. Political leaders, most often, gain/retain power by ordering the military to conquer more territory and subjugate the inhabitants thereof. At all times and all places, a few national governments exercise military/economic domination over other nations. National governments invariably recognize new leaders. In totalitarian regimes, the military usually selects (and protects) political leaders. In democratic regimes the populace selects new leaders via free elections. However, critics point out that elections are often manipulated by politicians by controlling who can vote, when the can vote, and where they can vote. Although we all expect the media to expose political wrong-doing, national, regional, statewide, and local media outlets are (in fact) owned by corporations. When a war takes place anywhere in the world, outside politicians must decide whether to enter that war in support of one side or another, or remain neutral. There is also the universal acknowledgement of the "domino theory," and that if Europe and the United States do not decisively intervene in Ukraine, Russia will conquer the rest of Europe, one nation at a time, until  all of Europe falls like dominoes. Currently, European countries and the United States are trying to decide whether/how to assist Ukraine; and whether/how to punish Russia for that invasion. President Biden already announced to the world that the United States will NOT send U.S. soldiers in harms way, but is willing to send an assortment of armaments to the region, and institute a boycott of all Russian products, especially oil, and other "sanctions" designed to punish Putin and Russia. Of course, Putin rules Russia with an iron fist, with the support of a coterie of "Russian oligarchs," who also expect to benefit from that invasion. How much control Putin has over the oligarchs and ultimately Russian military leaders, remains to be seen. My only point in offering this analysis is to point out that timelessly universal factors are easily identified in Ukraine, and that (for better or for worse) the course of human history is still indelibly shaped by cooperation between "old men" and "young men" in the military, business, and politics.