BRITISH RUSSOPHOBIA

Author: Alexander Mercouris, Political Commentator and Editor of The Duran.

Hostility to Russia is one of the most enduring, as well as one of the most destructive realities of British life. No part of the traditional media is free of it. It has gained a strong hold on the BBC and it is fair to say that all the big newspapers subscribe to it. This is disturbing in itself, but with all forms of institutional paranoia, it is also having a damaging effect on the functioning of Britian's institutions. One obvious way in which this manifests itself is in the extraordinary growth in both the visibility and influence on Britain's intelligence services. If the result of the British establishment's paranoia about Russia is deeply corrosive within Britain itself, its effect on British foreign policy has been entirely negative. At its most basic level it has meant a total breakdown in relations between Britain and Russia. British and Russian leaders no longer talk to each other, and summit meetings between British and Russian leaders have come to a complete stop.

This complete absence of dialogue with Russia is a serious problem for Britain as some British officials quietly acknowledge. Russia is after all a powerful nation and any state which still wishes to exercise influence on world affairs must engage with Russia in order to achieve it. The British establishment's hostility to Russia however makes that impossible. The result is that major international questions such as the Ukrainian crisis, the Syrian conflict and the gathering crisis in the Middle East by the U.S.'s withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal- in all of which Russia is centrally involved- are being handled without British involvement.

The British establishment is in fact making the fundamental mistake of thinking that other countries not only share their obsession with Russia, but that they necessarily value their relations with Britain more than with Russia. This is a strange view given that Russia is arguably a more powerful nation than Britain. It is notheless true that the British establishment's anti-Russian fixation is having an internationally damaging effect. Many Western governments have their own issues with Russia, and in such a situation it is not surprising that British paranoia about Russia finds a ready echo. The British have for example been the most implacable supporters amongs the leading Western powers of the ongoing sanctions drive against Russia. Beyond the effect on the international climate of the constant anto-Russian lobbying of the British government, there is the further effect of the ceaseless drumbeat of anti-Russian agitation which pours out of the British media and various British-based organizations and NGOs. The great international reach of the British media- the resullt of the worldwide use of the English language and the international respect some parts of British media such as the BBC still command- means that this constant stream of anti-Russian publicity pouring out of Britain has a worldwide impact and is having an effect that has to be taken into account in any study of current international relations.

The British establishment's obsession with Russia is something of a puzzle:

1. Britain today is not a geopolitical rival of Russia's as it was in the nineteenth century and as the U.S. is today. British antagonism to Russia cannot therefore be explianed as the product of a geopolitical conflict.
2. Russia is not a military or political threat to Britain. There is no history of Russia threatening or invading Britain.
3. Russia is not an economic rival, and Russian penetration of the British economy is minimal and vastly exaggerated.

It is sometimes said that there are things about modern Russia that the British find culturally, ideologically or politically distasteful, and that this is the reason for Britain's intense hostility to Russia. Ultimately however the precise cause of the British establishment's obsession with Russia does not actually matter. What does matter is that it is an obsession, which should be recognized as such, and that like other obsessions is ultimately destructive.

In Britain's case the obsession is not only corrupting Britain domestic politics and the working of its institutions. It is also marginalising Britain, limiting its options, and causing growing exasperation amongst some of its friends.

In addition, it blinds the British of their opportunities:

If the British were able to put their obsession with Russia behind them, they might notice that at a time when they are quitting the European Union, Russia potentially has a great deal to offer them. It is sometimes said that Britain produces very little that Russia needs, and it is indeed the case that trade between Russia and Britain is very small, and that most of Russia's import needs are met by countries, like Germany and China. However Britain is able to provide Russia with the single thing that Russia arguably needs most at this stage in its development. This is not machinery or technology, all of which it is perfectly capable of producing itself, but the one thing it is truly short of: investment capital. In the twentieth century Britain's lonh history of economic development in the U.S. paid handsome political dividends. Perhaps the same one day might be the case between Britain and Russia. Regardless of that, economic engagement with Russia would at least provide Britain with a plan for an economic future outside the EU, something which because of Brexit it urgently needs but which currently it completely lacks.

For anything like that to happen the British will first have to address the reality of their obsession, and the damage it is doing to them. At that point they might even start to do something about it.

In the meantime the rest of the world needs to understand that when it comes to Russia, the British are suffering from a serious affliction. Failing to do that risks the infection spreading. There is even a chance that refusing to listen to the British about Russia might have a good effect on Britain. If the British realize that the world is no longer listening to them then they mught start to understand the extent of their own problem.