We are currently living in the midst of an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the power of globalization in the de-escalation of conflict through nonviolence. In America we are fortunate to have a sitting president that has shown a great deal of restraint and reluctance to engage in military interventions. Our global image may not yet reflect this but Obama has refused calls to engage in Syria, Lybia, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Argentina, Pakistan, Palestine/Israel and now Ukraine (am I missing some?). That's not to say that we have significantly decreased our military global presence, only that it could have been much worse. Now, with the situation with Russia and Ukraine there is a chance to see if the world is ready for 21st century diplomacy.
For those Europeans that have criticized the United States for its overzealous inclination towards military engagement it is time to set the path towards bloodless diplomatic resolutions. In America the press continues to highlight the conflict as a battle between Putin and Obama, but the reality is actually much different. This conflict is really one between the European Union and Russia, the United States is primarily an auxiliary player (on the side of the EU). Crimea is a European territory belonging to a member state and the EU is a huge consumer of Russian energy exports.
Europe has a chance to resolve this conflict with minimal blood loss, but it must act in a unified and decisive manner. If Europe responds with economic force by refusing Russian exports & freezing Russian assets the results could be revolutionary. To be sure, there would be immediate pain felt on both sides; Russia would immediately take a huge economic hit but Europe would also be starving itself of necessary energy imports. Here is where the global community would need to step in. The United States would have to provide financial assistance and the middle eastern oil states would need to help fill the energy gap. If all the worlds players stepped up in this manner, we could show how the power of isolation is superior to the power of intervention.
Of course there is no realistic military option on the table against Russia, the results would be just too catastrophic. What we are really faced with are non-militaristic choices. We can either take a rational pragmatic approach and decide that the loss of Crimea is not of sufficient concern to warrant the repercussions associated with responding: or we can set a precedent that says that the world will not condone these hostile maneuvers and will respond with great force and solidarity. The resistance will economic and peaceful, it will be cooperative and firm. Here is a chance to show how all future wars will be won over dollars and cents rather than guns and bombs. If Europe fails to act, or the global community flinches in their support then we will have blown a unique chance to lead the world toward bloodless economic diplomacy.
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