¡Vamos a regatear!; ¿Al borde del abismo o un simple tropiezo en las relaciones disfuncionales? Cuba se prepara para la guerra total; el presidente Trump y el "acuerdo con Venezuela"; la orden ejecutiva "Abordando las amenazas a Estados Unidos por parte del gobierno de Cuba"

 

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE VERSION HERE 

 Cuba se prepara ahora para lo que su actual liderazgo podría considerar el desenlace final. Por supuesto, no tiene por qué ser así; pero el liderazgo, como lo ha hecho durante mucho tiempo, se ha visto impulsado implacablemente por las inevitabilidades inherentes a su forma de ver el mundo y, a partir de ella, a construir las alternativas que sus valores le presentan.

Credito aquí

En cierto sentido, la vanguardia cubana se ha estado preparando para este día durante mucho tiempo. Es, quizás, uno de los últimos vestigios de la era de los líderes heroicos (de izquierda y de derecha) del siglo XX, líderes que vieron en los estados y sistemas que construyeron una gran pira funeraria en la que se consumirían sus propias esperanzas, sueños y aspiraciones. En esto, quizás, los siglos XVIII y XX representan los extremos de los conceptos políticos limitantes de la Ilustración y sus jaulas cognitivas racionalizadoras. El siglo XVIII llevó a su máximo nivel de desarrollo el "despotismo ilustrado" en la monarquía absoluta. El siglo XX vio el surgimiento de la ideología despótica ilustrada encarnada en un aparato vanguardista. En todas partes... desde "el Estado soy yo" hasta "de muchos, uno" o quizás "unidad en la diversidad" y sus variaciones leninistas.

Las autoridades cubanas ya han tomado medidas públicas para poner a la República en pie de guerra, esperando una guerra total del pueblo. Discutido AQUÍ: " "Al imperio que nos amenaza le decimos: ¡Cuba somos millones!:" Discurso pronunciado por Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Primer Secretario del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba y Presidente de la República."

Ahora Estados Unidos ha intervenido. El 29 de enero, el presidente Trump emitió una orden ejecutiva: Abordando las amenazas a Estados Unidos por parte del Gobierno de Cuba. Esta orden ejecutiva estuvo acompañada de un documento complementario: Hoja informativa: El presidente Donald J. Trump aborda las amenazas a Estados Unidos por parte del Gobierno de Cuba.

La orden ejecutiva es bastante interesante. Parece ofrecer a Cuba una solución similar a la venezolana que podría, efectivamente, permitirle mantener la esencia de su sistema de gobierno (al menos por un tiempo). Considere el objetivo de la Orden Ejecutiva, tal como se resume en la hoja informativa:

--La Orden impone un nuevo sistema arancelario que permite a Estados Unidos imponer aranceles adicionales a las importaciones de cualquier país que proporcione petróleo a Cuba, directa o indirectamente.
--La Orden autoriza al Secretario de Estado y al Secretario de Comercio a tomar todas las medidas necesarias, incluida la emisión de normas y directrices, para implementar el sistema arancelario y las medidas conexas.
--El Presidente puede modificar la Orden si Cuba o los países afectados toman medidas significativas para abordar la amenaza o alinearse con los objetivos de seguridad nacional y política exterior de Estados Unidos.

Los dos primeros objetivos representan las tácticas habituales de la segunda administración Trump. Es el tercer objetivo el que llama la atención. La clave está en el "acuerdo": si el gobierno cubano toma "medidas significativas para abordar la amenaza o alinearse con los objetivos de seguridad nacional y política exterior de Estados Unidos", entonces la Orden Ejecutiva puede modificarse (probablemente junto con otras medidas). La postura inicial de negociación se esboza en la hoja informativa:

--El régimen cubano se alinea con numerosos países hostiles y actores malignos, albergando sus capacidades militares y de inteligencia. Por ejemplo, Cuba alberga la mayor instalación de inteligencia de señales de Rusia en el extranjero, centrada en el robo de información sensible de seguridad nacional de Estados Unidos.
--Cuba proporciona refugio seguro a grupos terroristas transnacionales, como Hezbolá y Hamás, y apoya a adversarios en el hemisferio occidental, socavando las sanciones estadounidenses y la estabilidad regional.
--El régimen persigue y tortura a opositores políticos, niega la libertad de expresión y de prensa, se beneficia corruptamente de la miseria del pueblo cubano e incita al caos al difundir la ideología comunista en toda la región.

El punto crítico, por supuesto, es el petróleo. La primera fase eliminó los suministros venezolanos; En segundo lugar, la tradicional ayuda del gobierno mexicano (La presidenta mexicana dice que su país ha suspendido los envíos de petróleo a Cuba ("'Pemex toma las decisiones en la relación contractual que tiene con Cuba', dijo Sheinbaum en su rueda de prensa matutina. 'Suspender es una decisión soberana y se toma cuando es necesario'"). Y el senador Marco Rubio sugirió los contornos de la situación desde la perspectiva estadounidense: El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio no confirmó si la administración Trump buscaría activamente un cambio de régimen. Al testificar ante el Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado, Rubio, al ser presionado sobre si Washington descartaría un esfuerzo respaldado por Estados Unidos para derrocar al actual liderazgo cubano, señaló que, de hecho, esa era una agenda establecida por el Congreso hace una generación. (Video: 'No lo descarto...': Marco Rubio sorprende a senador demócrata, rechaza compromiso de 'no cambio de régimen' en Cuba)

 

Crédito de la imagen aquí

Ahora... ¡hagamos un trato! ¡Vamos a regatear!

¿Es posible un acuerdo? Quizás. Sugerí los contornos de un espacio de acuerdo en mi discurso pronunciado en la Reunión Anual de la Asociación para el Estudio de la Economía Cubana en octubre de 2025: "Fundamentos Jurídico-Institucionales para la Reconstrucción en una Cuba Posrevolucionaria: Un Ejercicio Conceptual", discurso preparado para la Conferencia Anual de 2025 de la Asociación para el Estudio de la Economía Cubana, Miami, Florida, 25 de octubre de 2025. Lo planteé así:

El proyecto de transición no debe complacer a nadie; no debe estar orientado al beneficio estratégico de ningún grupo; y debe evitar la arrogancia, tan exhibida por los líderes de las últimas generaciones, pues son ellos los más indicados para declarar lo correcto, lo bueno y lo necesario, incluyendo la determinación del modelo político-económico de los pueblos soberanos y los sistemas institucionales-jurídicos creados para el cumplimiento de sus objetivos.

Esto no significa que la transición deba evitarse. Todos los estados se encuentran en un estado constante de transición; Basta con observar detenidamente la situación de Estados Unidos, Cuba y China desde 2008 para ver con claridad la inevitabilidad de esa trayectoria. El desarrollo de bases institucionales y legales sólidas, autorizadas y legítimas que faciliten la transición es vital. En el caso de Cuba, esto no debe acompañar transiciones que puedan situarse al margen de modelos político-económicos estables, sino en su núcleo mismo. Esto crea un elemento más dinámico en el que dichas reestructuraciones pueden ser profundas y profundamente transformadoras. Al mismo tiempo, no se debe satisfacer el ansia de colapso y caos, ni siquiera por parte de quienes se sientan tentados a trabajar por esos fines. En Cuba, la transición debe partir de la situación actual. Podría podar lo que obstaculiza y nutrir lo que impulsa el avance del Estado, el gobierno y la satisfacción de las necesidades populares. Esto requerirá un cambio en el modelo político-económico, un cambio que puede emprenderse incluso dentro del amplio paraguas del marxismo-leninismo. Pero la nomenclatura debe reformarse y su rol debe redefinirse, y el papel del mercado informal debe integrarse en el funcionamiento de la economía política de un Estado en transición.

Para ello, el sistema institucional jurídico cubano requiere ajustes, pero no una reforma integral; requiere el desarrollo de capacidades en el contexto del derecho administrativo (protección contra el abuso de discreción), en el derecho de los colectivos económicos que existen más allá del Estado y, especialmente, en el derecho contractual. Estos cambios requieren el desarrollo de capacidad institucional, la cual puede sentar las bases para la reeducación y la reorientación de la nomenclatura.* * *

Por último, y de crucial importancia, está la cuestión de la insularidad de Cuba. La construcción de la "Cuba Fortaleza" por parte de los militares y los elementos de poder de la nomenclatura sin duda ha servido a sus intereses a corto plazo. Sin embargo, en algún momento Cuba tendrá que abrirse. Esto también requiere el desarrollo de diversas instituciones y regímenes jurídicos. La cuestión se complica según la intensidad del deseo de evitar la inestabilidad. Es probable que la vía más segura sea una apertura gradual mediante la expansión, por etapas, del alcance y la operación de las Zonas Económicas Especiales, como Mariel. Estas pueden utilizarse, como hicieron los chinos hace una generación, como espacios donde el aparato pueda experimentar con la transición, desarrollar instituciones y regímenes jurídicos adaptados al contexto y luego extenderlos a las provincias y, posteriormente, al país. Al mismo tiempo, en este caso, el desarrollo institucional y jurídico podría beneficiarse más del modelo de doble circulación chino o de su versión estadounidense, como parte del proyecto "América Primero", como forma de proteger la integridad interna del Estado mientras se prepara para una mejor integración con el resto del mundo. En cualquier caso, dado el tamaño y la diversidad de experiencias de la comunidad diásporica, una comunidad cuya penetración en el territorio nacional es inevitable, un proyecto de desarrollo institucional y jurídico, un proyecto de ley de Zonas Económicas Especiales, puede desempeñar un papel vital a corto y medio plazo. * * *

No nos corresponde a nosotros determinar los detalles. Eso debería quedar en manos de la gente; Pero sí requiere una reconstitución del PCC, su estilo de trabajo y sus objetivos de maneras que quizás no estén dispuestos a aceptar. De ser así, la mejor opción sería una transición hacia un gobierno militar posrevolucionario. En resumen, sin embargo, es simple: a menos que se planee absorber la República Cubana en un Estado-imperio metropolitano más amplio, es improbable desarrollar con antelación un conjunto detallado de estructuras jurídicas institucionales que puedan aplicarse a la transición cubana. Dejo eso a utópicos, políticos y revolucionarios. (Fundamentos jurídico-institucionales para la reconstrucción en una Cuba posrevolucionaria: Un ejercicio conceptual)

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La respuesta del gobierno cubano fue necesaria y previsible (Cuba condena y denuncia nueva escalada del cerco económico de Estados Unidos; que se presenta a continuación. Sin embargo, las condiciones han cambiado y los caminos hacia la estabilidad, más allá de una gobernanza de la miseria, siguen siendo difíciles (Cuba y la Constitución de un Estado de Miseria Estable: Ideología, Política Económica y Disciplina Popular). Por mucho que le duela a la nomenklatura —tan desesperada por detener el tiempo y preservar aquellos gloriosos momentos de la década de 1970 y la transición del gobierno revolucionario al comunista (El marxismo caribeño de Cuba: Ensayos sobre ideología, gobierno, sociedad y economía en la era posterior a Fidel Castro; también aquí)—, quizás sea el momento de avanzar hacia un sistema de mercados socialistas o de retroceder a enero de 1959 y considerar un camino diferente para el gobierno revolucionario. En este sentido, las nociones chinas de autorrevolución y revolución social podrían ser dignas de consideración por parte del aparato administrativo y del Partido (Breves reflexiones sobre 坚定不移把党的自我革命向纵深推进 —习近平 [Xi Jinping, Avanzar con determinación en la autorrevolución del Partido a un nivel más profundo]). La esencia de este cambio requerirá la rectificación de la nomenklatura (difícil pero posible) y la incorporación de las costumbres y prácticas de la economía informal como nueva base para el desarrollo económico cubano, incluso con un marco socialista.

Los textos de la orden ejecutiva:  Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba. [Abordando las amenazas a Estados Unidos por parte del Gobierno de Cuba], y el documento complementario: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba [Hoja informativa: El presidente Donald J. Trump aborda las amenazas a Estados Unidos por parte del Gobierno de Cuba], se presentan a continuación, junto con la respuesta del gobierno cubano: Cuba condena y denuncia la nueva escalada del cerco económico de Estados Unidos.

 

On the Brink or a Blip in Dysfunctional Relations?--Cuba Prepares for Total War; President Trump and the "Venezuela Deal"; Executive Order "Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba"

 

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 VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL AQUÍ

Cuba is now preparing for what its current leadership may believe to be an end game.  Of course it need not be; but the leadership has, as it has for a long time, been driven relentlessly by the inevitabilitties built into its way of looking at the world and from it constructing the alternatives which its values present top it. 

In a sense, the Cuban vanguard has been preparing for this day for a very long time. It is, perhaps one of the final markers of the 20th century's age of heroic (left and right) leader gods--leader gods that saw in the states and systems they built a very large funeral pyre on which their own hopes, dreams, and aspirations would be consumed. In this, perhaps, the 18th and 20th centuries represent the book ends of the political limiting concepts of the Enlightenment and its rationalizing cognitive cages.  The 18th century brought to its highest level of development the "enlightened despotism" in anbolute monarchy. The 20th century saw the rise of the enlightened despotic ideology incarnated in a vanguardist apparatus. Everywhere. . . from "l'etat c'est moi" to e pluribus unum or perhaps "unity in diversity" and its Leninist variations. 

Cuban authorities have already  taken public steps to put the Republic on a wartime footing, expecting a total war of the people. Discussed HERE: "Al imperio que nos amenaza le decimos: ¡Cuba somos millones!:" Discurso pronunciado por Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Primer Secretario del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba y Presidente de la República,

Now the United States has weighed in. On 29 January President Trump issued an executive order: Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba. That Executive Order was accompanied by a companion document: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba.

The Executive Order is quite interesting. It appears to provide Cuba with a Venezuelan solution that could, effectively, allow it to keep the substance of its governance system (at least for a little while). Consider the objective of the Executive Order as summarized in the Factsheet:  

• The Order imposes a new tariff system that allows the United States to impose additional tariffs on imports from any country that directly or indirectly provides oil to Cuba.
• The Order authorizes the Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce to take all necessary actions, including issuing rules and guidance, to implement the tariff system and related measures.
• The President may modify the Order if Cuba or affected countries take significant steps to address the threat or align with U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.

The first two objectives represent he standard issue tactics of the 2nd Trump Administration. It is the third objective that draws attention. The key is in the "deal"--if Cuba's government takes "significant steps to address the threat or align with U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives" then the Executive Order can be modified (likely along with other measures). The opening negotiating stance is roughed out in the Factsheet:  

The Cuban regime aligns itself with numerous hostile countries and malign actors, hosting their military and intelligence capabilities. For example, Cuba hosts Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility focused on stealing sensitive national security information from the United States.

Cuba provides safe haven for transnational terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and supports adversaries in the Western Hemisphere, undermining U.S. sanctions and regional stability.

The regime persecutes and tortures political opponents, denies free speech and press, profits corruptly from the Cuban people’s misery, and incites chaos by spreading communist ideology across the region.

The choke point, of course, is petroleum. The first phase eliminated Venezuelan supplies; the second the traditional handout by the Mexican government (Mexican president says her country has paused oil shipments to Cuba ("'Pemex makes decisions in the contractual relationship it has with Cuba,' Sheinbaum said in her morning news briefing. 'Suspending is a sovereign decision and is taken when necessary.'"). And Secretary Marco Rubio suggested the contours of the situation from the U.S. perspective:  US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stopped short of confirming whether the Trump administration would actively pursue regime change. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio when pressed on whether Washington would rule out a US-backed effort to remove Cuba’s current leadership noted that, indeed, that was an agenda set by Congress a generation ago. (Video: ‘Won’t rule out…': Marco Rubio stuns Dem Senator, rejects ‘no-regime-change’ pledge on Cuba)

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Now. . . . let's make a deal!

Is a deal possible? Perhaps.  I suggested the contours of a deal space in my remarks delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy in October 2025: "Legal-Institutional Foundations for Reconstruction in a Post-Revolutionary Cuba: A Conceptual Exercise," Remarks prepared for delivery at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy, Miami, Florida, 25 October 2025. I left it this way: 

The project of transition ought to please no one; ought to be directed to the strategic benefit of no group; and ought to avoid the arrogance, so much on display by leaders of the past several generations, that they are best situated to declare what is right, good, and necessary, including the determination of the political economic model of sovereign peoples and the institutional-legal systems created for the fulfillment of its objectives.

That is not to say that transition is to be avoided. All states are in a constant state of transition; one need only look closely at the United States, Cuba, and China since 2008 to see quite clearly the unavoidability of that trajectory.  The development of strong, authoritative and legitimate institutional-legal foundations in aid of transition is vital. In the case of Cuba that is meant to accompany not transitions that may sit of the margins of stable political economic models, but at its very center. That creates a more dynamic element in which such restructurings may be profound and profoundly transformative. At the same time, a lust for collapse and chaos ought not be satisfied, even by those who might be tempted to work toward those ends. In Cuba transition must start from the current situation. It might prune that which impedes and nurture that which moves state, government, and the satisfaction of popular need forward. That will require a change in the political economic model, a change that can be undertaken even within the broad umbrella of Marxist-Leninism. But the nomenklatura must be  reformed and its role refashioned, and the role of the informal market must become part of the operation of the political economy of a state in transition.

To those ends, the Cuban legal institutional system requires tweaking but not comprehensive reform; it requires capacity building in the context of administrative law (protect against abuse of discretion), in the law of economic collectives that exist beyond the state, and especially in the law of contract. Those changes require the develop of institutional capacity, one with respect to which may provide a basis for the re-education and repurposing of the nomenklatura.* * * 

 Lastly, and of critical importance is the issue of the insularity of Cuba. The construction of “Fortress Cuba” by the military and nomenklatura elements of power  has certainly served their short term interests. However, at some point Cuba will have to open up. That also requires the development of a host of institutions and legal regimes. The issue is complicated depending on how strong the desire to avoid instability may be.  It is likely that the safest route is a gradual opening up by expanding, in stages, the reach and operation of Special Economic Zines, like Mariel. Those can be used, as the Chinese did a generation ago, as the spaces where the apparatus can experiment with transition, develop institutions and legal regimes to suit the context, and then role them out to provinces and then nationally. At the same time, here institutional and legal development might profit more from the dual circulation model of the Chinese or its American version as part of the America First project, as a way of protecting the internal integrity of the state while preparing for better integration with the rest of the world.  In any case, given the size and diversity of experience of the diaspora community, a community the penetration of which into the national territory is inevitable, such a project of institution-law building, a project of the law of Special Economic Zones, may play a vital role in the short and medium term. * * *  

It is not for us to make the determination of details. That ought to be left to the people; but it does require a reconstitution of the PCC and its work style and objectives in ways that they may not be willing to take. If that is the case then a transition back to a military post-revolution government may be the best way forward. The bottom line, though, is simple: unless one is planning to absorb the Cuban Republic into a larger metropolitan State-empire, it is improbable to develop before the fact any detailed set of institutional legal structures that might be applied to Cuban transition. I leave that to utopians, politicians, and revolutionaries. (Legal-Institutional Foundations for Reconstruction in a Post-Revolutionary Cuba: A Conceptual Exercise)

The Cuban government's response was necessary and predictable (Cuba condena y denuncia nueva escalada del cerco económico de Estados Unidos; which follows below. Nonetheless, conditions have changed, and the pathways to stability beyond a governance of misery remain difficult (Cuba and the Constitution of a Stable State of Misery: Ideology, Economic Policy, and Popular Discipline). As much as it may pain the nomenklatura--so desperate to stop time and preserve those glorious moments of the 1970s and the transition from revolutionary to Communist government (Cuba’s Caribbean Marxism: Essays on Ideology, Government, Society, and Economy in the Post Fidel Castro Era; also here)--it may be time now to move forward either toward a socialist markets system or to reset back to January 1959 and consider a different way forward from a revolutionary government. In that respect Chinese notions of self-revolution and social revolution might be worth considering by the administrative and Party apparatus of state (Brief Reflections on 坚定不移把党的自我革命向纵深推进——习近平 [Xi Jinping, Resolutely Advance the Party's Self-Revolution to a Deeper Level]).  The essence of this change will require the rectification of the nomenklatura (hard but possible) and the incorporation of the mores and practices of the informal economy as the new basis for Cuban economic development, even with a socialist overlay.

The texts of the executive order: Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba. and the companion document: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba follow below, along with the Cuban government response--Cuba condena y denuncia nueva escalada del cerco económico de Estados Unidos.

Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) Issues China Monitor No. 2 (30 January 2026)

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China was created by the U.S. Congress in 2000 "with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China, and to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. The Commission consists of nine Senators, nine Members of the House of Representatives, and five senior Administration officials appointed by the President." (CECC About). The CECC FAQs provide useful information about the CECC. See CECC Frequently Asked Questions. They have developed positions on a number of issues.

CECC tends to serve as an excellent barometer of the thinking of political and academic elites in the United States about issues touching on China and the official American line developed in connection with those issues. As such it is an important source of information about the way official and academic sectors think about China. As one can imagine many of the positions of the CECC are critical of current Chinese policies and institutions (for some analysis see CECC).

CECC periodically publishes its China Monitor. The latest issue (No. 2, 30 January 2026) is now available. These suggest what appears to be foregrounded by Congressional leaders and will likely play a role in interactions between Congress and the State Depart, and ultimately between Secretary Rubio (a former co-chair of CECC), the President and other relevant Cabinet secretaries. The contents  include the following:

Contents:

• Party Watch:
  • Politburo Meeting on Internet Governance underscores intent to tighten control.
  • Cyberspace Administration of China issues broad Negative Behaviors List.
• Report on China’s Efforts to Undermine Work of U.N. Human Rights Bodies: New International Service for Human Rights reveals China’s efforts to weaken U.N. human rights institutions.
• Joint Statement on China’s Human Rights Abuses: U.S. and 14 other countries decry China’s serious and systemic human rights abuses.
• Legal Developments: Two newly updated laws have taken effect in the PRC: the revised PRC Public Security Administration Punishment Law and the amended PRC Cybersecurity Law.
• Fire in Hong Kong: Fire exposes governance failures and prompts securitized response.
• Near Record Low Turnout in Hong Kong Election: Low turnout suggests voter disengagement despite government mobilization campaign.
• Forced Censorship and Transnational Repression in the Arts: Two recent cases demonstrate the PRC’s attempts to control narratives in arts and entertainment both domestically and abroad.
• Religious Freedom: Crackdown on protestant “house” churches intensifies.
• Highlighted Political Prisoner Case—Gonpo Tsering (མགོན་པོ་ཚེ་རིང་)

The longer discussions of each of these topics  may be accessed through the links above and appear below. To view the China Monitor in PDF file here. 

《红旗文稿》2025年第23期 Red Flag Articles (2025:23): Understanding China's "Centering the Country" Modernization Path ; the in 四大优势 [Four Major Advantages] and 推进全面依法 [Comprehensively Promote the Rule of Law]

Pix credit here ("Create a great new situation in socialist modernized construction," early 1980s)

Socialist (Chinese style) modernization has, in the new era of Chinese historical development, become a comprehensive subject. That is, socialist moderation has become an important means of rationalizing the entirety of the project, overseen by the Communist Party of China, to develop all of the productive forces of the Chinese nation toward the ends of establishing a communist society for the nation. Those dimensions include not just the nation's productive forces but the Communist Party itself as a core productive force of the political-economic model and its fundamental mission. I have briefly suggested its constitutional dimensions (here), and also the fundamental importance of understanding modernization as a comprehensive approach to the understanding pf social forces, and its instrumentalization toward the fundamental goal (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).

The current issue of Red Flag (or perhaps more comprehensively transliterated as Revolutionary Banner) Journal 《红旗文稿》2025年第23期 (on the semiotics of flags, banners and the like, see here), includes a number of essays that again drive home this point. The table of contents (with links to the Chinese language essays) follows below. 

The issue starts with its Commentary [要论], 深刻理解“十五五”时期我国经济社会发展优势更加彰显 /张占斌 [A Deeper Understanding of the Increasingly Prominent Advantages of my country's Economic and Social Development During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period / Zhang Zhanbin]. This foregrounds the conceptual basis for new era socialist modernization (its template) around the 四大优势 [Four Major Advantages] of a socialist system with Chinese characteristics: "The advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, the advantage of a super-large market, the advantage of a complete industrial system, and the advantage of abundant human resources are becoming increasingly evident." [中国特色社会主义制度优势、超大规模市场优势、完整产业体系优势、丰富人才资源优势更加彰显]. That Commentary is then bookended with a Qiushi Commentator drafted Red Flag forum [红旗论坛/求是网评论员] entitled Continuously Promoting the Constitution to Take Root in People's Hearts [持续推动宪法深入人心 ]. Its essence is this:

在推进全面依法治国的新征程上，要牢牢把握党对宪法工作的全面领导这一根本原则，充分彰显我国宪法制度的独特优势。将宪法实施深度融入治国理政各环节，持续提高党依宪治国、依宪执政的能力水平。[On the new journey of advancing the comprehensive rule of law, it is essential to firmly grasp the fundamental principle of the Party's overall leadership over constitutional work and fully demonstrate the unique advantages of my country's constitutional system. The implementation of the Constitution should be deeply integrated into all aspects of national governance, continuously improving the Party's ability to govern and administer the country in accordance with the Constitution.]

Again, the issue bookends the two key elements of the Chinese political-economic model. Its normative basis is manifested in and through socialist development (modernization) along a Socialist Path toward communism. Its structural and methodological basis is organized around the leadership and guidance of its vanguard of social forces whose work is undertaken within a cage of regulation that manifests the structures within which it exercises leadership to the ends of forward movement along the Socialist Path.

It then applies the conceptual framework to to (1) 中国共产党的思想工作 [the ideological work of the Communist Party of China]; (2) politics (政治); (3) economy (经济); (4) culture (文化); (5) society (社会); and (6) ecology (生态). 

The table of contents (with links) and an English translation follow.

 

For the other essays in this series on Chinese Leninist theory and its expression see

 Brief Reflections on 深入学习贯彻《中国共产党思想政治工作条例》[Thoroughly study and implement the "Regulations on Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China"]

 To Promote the Constitution One Must First Promote the Leadership of the Party!--Reflections on 持续推动宪法深入人心 [Continuously Promoting the Constitution to Take Root in People's Hearts] and 抓住“关键少数”的理论意蕴 [Grasping the Theoretical Implications of Focusing on the "Key Few"]

 Reflections on a Chinese Reflection on Davis--不能任由世界滑向“无规则”深渊（寰宇平） [The World Cannot Be Allowed to Slide into the Abyss of "Lawlessness" (Global Perspective)]

 The Four Advantages [四大优势] of Chinese Style Modernization in the New Era; Reflections on 深刻理解“十五五”时期我国经济社会发展优势更加彰显 《红旗文稿》2025/23 张占斌 [A Deeper Understanding of the Even More Prominent Advantages of China's Economic and Social Development During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period," Red Flag Journal, 2025/23 Zhang Zhanbin]

 For Those who Missed This: 中华人民共和国外交部--中国对拉丁美洲和加勒比政策文件 [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC--China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean]

For Those who Missed This: 中华人民共和国外交部--中国对拉丁美洲和加勒比政策文件 [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC--China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean]

 

Pix credit here

 On 10 December 2025 the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs [中华人民共和国外交部] distributed its Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean [中国对拉丁美洲和加勒比政策文件]:

As a developing country and a member of the Global South, China has always shared the same destiny with the Global South, including Latin America and the Caribbean. In recent years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has put forward a series of major initiatives and measures to strengthen China-Latin America relations and cooperation in various fields, giving new contemporary significance to China-Latin America relations. The Chinese government is releasing its third "China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean," aiming to summarize experiences, look to the future, comprehensively elaborate on China's policy towards Latin America, and promote China-Latin America relations and cooperation in various fields to a new level. [作为发展中国家、全球南方的一员，中国始终同包括拉美和加勒比在内的全球南方同呼吸、共命运。近年来，中国国家主席习近平就加强中拉关系和各领域合作提出一系列重大倡议和举措，赋予中拉关系新的时代内涵。中国政府发布第三份《中国对拉丁美洲和加勒比政策文件》，旨在总结经验，展望未来，全面阐述中国对拉政策，推动中拉关系和各领域合作再上新台阶。] (中国对拉丁美洲和加勒比政策文件)

 The full text of the Policy Paper follows in the original Chinese and in an English Translation. It may also be accessed in the original HERE. 

The policy is particularly interesting as a region specific elaboration of the New Era Chinese International Initiatives: The Global Development Initiative focues on a Socialist Path acceleration of the implementation of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in its six core principles, development as a priority, a people-centered approach, benefits for all, innovation-driven development, harmony between man and nature, and results-oriented actions. The Global Security Initiative focuses on a Socialist approach to elaborating the spirit spirit of the UN Charter through solidarity measures, addressing traditional and non-traditional security risks and challenges with a win-win approach, and creating a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance, and win-win results over zero-sum games. The Global Civilization Initiative is grounded in advancing  respect for the diversity of civilizations while also advocating the common values of humanity, the importance of continuity and evolution of civilizations, and  closer international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. (China’s Three Global Initiatives). The 2025 Global Governance Initiative is built around  five core concepts: (1) sovereign equality to ensure participation in global affairs by all countries; (2) international rule of law for a just and orderly global governance system; (3) multilateralism for greater solidarity and cooperation among all countries; (4) a people-centered approach for universally beneficial and inclusive outcomes of global governance; and (5) a pragmatic and efficient global governance process." (Implementing the Global Governance Initiative for a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity).  The Initiatives overlap in broad respect and build on each other to produce a layered iterative self-referencing framework that expresses Socialist values distilled for the global community.  

Also useful may be the commentary:  周志伟：“五大工程”推动中拉命运共同体走深走实 [Zhou Zhiwei: "Five Major Projects" Drive the China-Latin America Community of Shared Future to Deeper and More Substantial Development]. Among the most interesting feature is the way that this initiative represents a good example of the way in which the Silk Roads initiative has evolved past its Belt & Road Initiative stage to now become better embedded in the overall Chinese internationalist project. 

 From a policy perspective, the "Five Major Projects" accurately summarize the practical aspects of China-Latin America cooperation and will serve as important guidelines for China's policy towards Latin America in the next stage, reflecting China's policy philosophy of upholding principles, openness, pragmatism, pioneering spirit, and innovation in its cooperation with Latin America. [从政策内容来看，“五大工程”是对中拉合作实践的精准概括，也将成为下一阶段中国对拉政策的重要遵循，体现出中国对拉合作守正、开放、务实、开拓、创新的政策理念。]

The Solidarity Project aims to consolidate the political foundation. Having weathered the vicissitudes of international affairs, China-Latin America relations have forged a solid consensus on identity and values. . . . Amidst the profound adjustments in the international system, China and Latin America are working together to implement global governance initiatives and jointly revitalize the Global South.

The Development Project aims to promote common prosperity. Development is a key prerequisite for the rise of the Global South and a core demand of both China and Latin America. . . . In addition to further consolidating the incremental advantages in trade and investment, China emphasizes fully utilizing various cooperation mechanisms and platforms under cooperation frameworks such as the Global Development Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative to continuously share new opportunities for Chinese-style modernization, strengthen the alignment of development strategies, and actively promote cooperation in various fields. Compared with the previous two policy documents on Latin America, the third policy document adds content such as "environmental protection, climate change and disaster reduction cooperation," "tax cooperation," and "market regulation cooperation," reflecting China's goal and vision of high-quality development in its cooperation with Latin America.

The Civilization Project aims to deepen mutual learning among civilizations. Cultural exchange is an important component of China-Latin America cooperation and a crucial guarantee for the upgrading of China-Latin America cooperation. . . .This includes practical cooperation in various fields of cultural heritage, such as ancient civilization research, joint archaeology, monument restoration, and museum exchanges, as well as cooperation on the recovery and return of looted cultural artifacts. Clearly, the revitalization of China-Latin America civilization will be a crucial component of the China-Latin America civilization project.

The Peace Project aims to maintain regional stability. Peace is a fundamental prerequisite for international cooperation and an important guarantee for the construction of a China-Latin America community of shared future. . . .On the one hand, China explicitly supports the Latin American region's security aspirations to become a "peace zone" and a "nuclear-free zone." On the other hand, China actively conducts military exchanges and cooperation with Latin American countries, supporting their security capacity building; jointly combating transnational crime and terrorism and other non-traditional security threats, deepening cooperation in drug enforcement, and expanding cooperation in anti-corruption and asset recovery. . . .

The People-to-People Project aims to enhance friendship between peoples. "People-centered" is the value pursuit of China's distinctive major-country diplomacy. In recent years, "benefiting the people" has become a prominent feature of China-Latin America cooperation. . . .  The third policy document on relations with Latin America clarifies that China and Latin America can deepen cooperation in areas such as social governance and social development, poverty reduction, health, consular affairs, tourism, and people-to-people and local exchanges, further enhancing the benefits of China-Latin America cooperation and fully reflecting the value of the "people-centered" concept in the construction of a China-Latin America community of shared future. (周志伟：“五大工程”推动中拉命运共同体走深走实). See also Enrique Dussel Peters, "Latin America and the Caribbean‑China socioeconomic
relations: new triangular relationships and the Mexican case in 2025," China International Strategy Review (https://doi.org/10.1007/s42533-025-00194-9)

It is most usefully read against the relevant portions of the  National Security Strategy of the United States for 2025 (November 2025) (discussed here: America First as the Essence of National Security and the American Post-Colonial 'Howl': Reflections on the 2025 National Security Strategy of the United States (2025)) and the U.S. Department of State Agency Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2026-2030 (January 2026)  discussed here: Reflections on the Normative-Institutional Architecture of America First: U.S. State Department "Agency Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2026-2030, the 2026 National Defense Strategy discussed here: Fleshing Out the America First Framework as Peace Through Strength Projections: Brief Reflections on the 2026 National Defense Strategy (US Department of War January 2026).

 

For the other essays in this series on Chinese Leninist theory and its expression see

 Brief Reflections on 深入学习贯彻《中国共产党思想政治工作条例》[Thoroughly study and implement the "Regulations on Ideological and Political Work of the Communist Party of China"]

 To Promote the Constitution One Must First Promote the Leadership of the Party!--Reflections on 持续推动宪法深入人心 [Continuously Promoting the Constitution to Take Root in People's Hearts] and 抓住“关键少数”的理论意蕴 [Grasping the Theoretical Implications of Focusing on the "Key Few"]

 Reflections on a Chinese Reflection on Davis--不能任由世界滑向“无规则”深渊（寰宇平） [The World Cannot Be Allowed to Slide into the Abyss of "Lawlessness" (Global Perspective)]

 The Four Advantages [四大优势] of Chinese Style Modernization in the New Era; Reflections on 深刻理解“十五五”时期我国经济社会发展优势更加彰显 《红旗文稿》2025/23 张占斌 [A Deeper Understanding of the Even More Prominent Advantages of China's Economic and Social Development During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period," Red Flag Journal, 2025/23 Zhang Zhanbin]

 For Those who Missed This: 中华人民共和国外交部--中国对拉丁美洲和加勒比政策文件 [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC--China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean]

 

"La plataforma virtual dentro de los templos del derecho: El derecho y la plataforma como sujeto y objeto del otro" -- Ponencia presentada en el Simposio Internacional: El cambio de paradigma tecnológico en el derecho internacional, transnacional y europeo (Roma Tre, 29-30 de enero)

 

 

 Versión en inglés ACQUI.

Me complace participar en el Simposio Internacional: El cambio de paradigma tecnológico en el derecho internacional, transnacional y europeo, organizado por mi brillante colega y amigo Fabio Bassan y patrocinado por (y celebrado en) Roma Tre. El programa se presenta a continuación y me entusiasma escuchar, y posteriormente leer, las maravillosas intervenciones de los participantes.

La reciente evolución de la tecnología está cambiando los paradigmas de la vida y las relaciones sociales. También produce un impacto significativo en las relaciones jurídicas y económicas a nivel europeo, transnacional e internacional. El uso malicioso de la tecnología puede ser decisivo para el resultado de una elección, pero también puede generar beneficios para la protección de los derechos fundamentales o para el Estado de bienestar. Puede contribuir decisivamente al aparato bélico de un Estado y puede proteger y preservar la paz. Transforma a las corporaciones multinacionales en órdenes privados, incluso potencialmente dotadas de su propia moneda, y también permite formas de protección de los individuos y la comunidad frente a ellas. Puede resultar en un enorme gasto de electricidad, pero también en una reducción del impacto ambiental.
Sin embargo, el resultado no es neutral: la supervisión del uso de la tecnología es más lenta que la evolución tecnológica y amplifica las limitaciones del derecho transnacional, supranacional e internacional. * * * En esta conferencia, nuestro objetivo es debatir las implicaciones de este tema en sus diversas aplicaciones y comprender si existe un camino de cooperación que pueda reemplazar total o parcialmente el actual escenario de confrontación.

Mi contribución se titula La plataforma virtual dentro de los templos del derecho: El derecho y la plataforma como sujeto y objeto del otro. El texto de esta ponencia se presenta a continuación y también se pueden consultar aquí. Un breve resumen ofrece al lector la idea principal:

Esta ponencia examina la dialéctica de la subjetividad jurídica en condiciones en las que el derecho se codifica, se operacionaliza y se aplica cada vez más a través de sistemas tecnológicos que superan la capacidad cognitiva humana. Se pregunta si las plataformas digitales han alterado los vectores fundamentales de la subjetividad y la soberanía jurídicas, desplazando la autoridad de los ordenamientos jurídicos centrados en el ser humano hacia regímenes mediados por la tecnología. Utilizando la figura bíblica de Sansón como metáfora extendida, el artículo contrasta una visión tradicional —las plataformas como instrumentos sujetos al control soberano externo— con una alternativa más radical en la que la plataforma misma se convierte en estructura y agente, ejerciendo voluntad autónoma. Basándose en la obra de Fabio Bassan, Digital Platforms and Global Law, el análisis rastrea las trayectorias regulatorias contemporáneas: el ordenamiento privado transnacional, los acuerdos de producción entre estados y plataformas, y la interconexión de normas públicas y privadas. Este enfoque considera la esencia de la subjetividad de las plataformas haciendo referencia al problema análogo de la subjetividad de la empresa multinacional; cada una es a la vez un objeto, un espacio-objeto pasivo definido por las acciones y la posición de los sujetos jurídicos tradicionales, y el sistema para ordenar esas relaciones. Si bien el marco de Bassan trata plausiblemente a las plataformas como instrumentos insertos en estructuras legales en evolución, estas reflexiones van más allá, sugiriendo que las plataformas pueden emerger como sujetos regulatorios independientes, potencialmente soberanos por derecho propio. A medida que los sistemas automatizados y generativos de toma de decisiones internalizan las funciones de gobernanza, las plataformas pueden constituir sus propios órdenes normativos, transfiriendo el control a los humanos solo cuando sea necesario. El resultado es un futuro de soberanías en competencia que desestabiliza las categorías tradicionales de derecho, autoridad y subjetividad.

Puede acceder a la versión en inglés de estas reflexiones aquí--ENGLISH; ESPAÑOL.La versión en español se encuentra a continuación.

Estas imágenes sugieren la progresión que subyace a la transformación de la legalidad y sus sujetos. 

 

  

Pix credit here (Athens central market)

Pix credit here

Y esto es lo que produce ChatGPT cuando se le pide que escriba un código simple para un mercado autónomo ("A continuación se muestra un ejemplo mínimo y autónomo de «mercado» implementado como una aplicación web de un solo archivo (HTML + CSS + JavaScript). Suposición: desea un mercado digital simple donde los usuarios puedan publicar artículos para la venta y comprarlos localmente (en memoria), sin backend, sin pagos ni autenticación. Este es el esqueleto básico más pequeño y útil que puede ampliar posteriormente para crear un sistema real"):[And here is what ChatGPT produces when asked to write a simple code for a self contained market ("Below is a minimal, self-contained “marketplace” example implemented as a single-file web app (HTML + CSS + JavaScript). Assumption: you want a simple digital marketplace where users can list items for sale and purchase them locally (in-memory)—no backend, no payments, no auth. This is the smallest useful scaffold you can later extend to a real system.")]:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <title>Simple Marketplace</title>
  <style>
    body {
      font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
      margin: 40px;
      background: #f5f5f5;
    }
    h1 { margin-bottom: 10px; }
    .container {
      max-width: 700px;
      background: white;
      padding: 20px;
      border-radius: 6px;
      box-shadow: 0 2px 6px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
    }
    input, button {
      padding: 8px;
      margin: 5px 0;
    }
    button {
      cursor: pointer;
    }
    ul {
      list-style: none;
      padding: 0;
    }
    li {
      display: flex;
      justify-content: space-between;
      padding: 10px;
      border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="container">
    <h1>Simple Marketplace</h1>

    <h3>Add Item</h3>
    <input id="name" placeholder="Item name" />
    <input id="price" type="number" placeholder="Price" />
    <button onclick="addItem()">List Item</button>

    <h3>Market Listings</h3>
    <ul id="market"></ul>
  </div>

  <script>
    const market = [];

    function renderMarket() {
      const ul = document.getElementById("market");
      ul.innerHTML = "";

      market.forEach((item, index) => {
        const li = document.createElement("li");
        li.innerHTML = `
          <span>${item.name} — $${item.price}</span>
          <button onclick="buyItem(${index})">Buy</button>
        `;
        ul.appendChild(li);
      });
    }

    function addItem() {
      const name = document.getElementById("name").value;
      const price = document.getElementById("price").value;

      if (!name || !price) return alert("Enter name and price.");

      market.push({ name, price });
      document.getElementById("name").value = "";
      document.getElementById("price").value = "";

      renderMarket();
    }

    function buyItem(index) {
      const item = market[index];
      alert(`You bought ${item.name} for $${item.price}`);
      market.splice(index, 1);
      renderMarket();
    }
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Los templos (de derecho) se han caidos. Algo nuevo espera construcción, pero esta ves en forma de código informático. 

"The Virtual Platform Within the Temples of Law: Law and Platform as Subject and Object of the Other"--Remarks Presented at the International Symposium: The Technological Paradigm Shift in International, Transnational, and European Law (Roma Tre, 29-30 January)

 

Pix Credit ChatGPT per author instruction

Spanish language version HERE.

I am delighted to be able to participate in the International Symposium: The Technological Paradigm Shift in International, Transnational, and European Law organized by my brilliant colleague and friend Fabio Bassan and sponsored by (and held at) Roma Tre. The Program follows below and I am excited to listen to, and eventually read, the marvelous interventions of the participants. 

The recent evolution of technology is changing the paradigms of life and social relations. It also produces a significant impact in legal and economic relations on European, Transnational and International levels. Malicious use of technology can be decisive for the outcome of an election, but it can also produce benefits for the protection of fundamental rights, or for the welfare state. It can decisively assist a state's war apparatus, and it can protect and preserve peace. It shifts multinational corporations into private orders, even potentially endowed with their own currency, and enables forms of protection of individuals and the community from them as well. It can result in a huge expenditure on electricity, but also in a reduction in environmental impact.
Nevertheless, the result is not neutral: oversight of the use of technology is slower than technological evolution, and it amplifies the limits of Transnational, Supranational, International law. * * * In this conference we aim to debate on the implications of the issue in its various applications, and to understand whether there is a path of cooperation that can replace all or part of the current confrontation scenario.

My contribution is titled The Virtual Platform Within the Temples of Law: Law and Platform as Subject and Object of the Other. The remarks follow below and may be accessed here as well. A short abstract gives the reader the gist:

These remarks examine the dialectics of legal subjectivity under conditions in which law is increasingly encoded, operationalized, and enforced through technological systems that exceed human cognitive capacity. It asks whether digital platforms have altered the fundamental vectors of legal subjectivity and sovereignty, shifting authority away from human-centered legal orders toward techno-mediated regimes. Using the biblical figure of Samson as an extended metaphor, the paper contrasts a traditional view—platforms as vessels subject to external sovereign control—with a more radical alternative in which the platform itself becomes both edifice and agent, exercising autonomous will. Building on Fabio Bassan’s Digital Platforms and Global Law, the analysis traces contemporary regulatory trajectories: transnational private ordering, state–platform production agreements, and intermeshing public–private norms. It considers the nature of the subjectivity of platforms by reference to the analogous problem of the subjectivity of the multi-national enterprise; each is both an object, a passive object-space defined by the actions and placement of traditional legal subjects, and the system for ordering those relations. While Bassan’s framework plausibly treats platforms as vessels embedded in evolving legal structures, these remarks pushes further, suggesting that platforms may emerge as independent regulatory subjects, potentially sovereign in their own right. As automated and generative decision-making systems internalize governance functions, platforms may constitute their own normative orders, translating control back to humans only as needed. The result is a future of competing sovereignties that destabilizes traditional categories of law, authority, and subjectivity.

The Spanish language version (versión en castellano) of the Remarks may be accessed here--ENGLISH; ESPAÑOL.The English language version also follows below.

These images suggest the progression behind which is located the transformation of legality and its subjects.

  

Pix credit here (Athens central market)

Pix credit here

And here is what ChatGPT produces when asked to write a simple code for a self contained market ("Below is a minimal, self-contained “marketplace” example implemented as a single-file web app (HTML + CSS + JavaScript). Assumption: you want a simple digital marketplace where users can list items for sale and purchase them locally (in-memory)—no backend, no payments, no auth. This is the smallest useful scaffold you can later extend to a real system."):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <title>Simple Marketplace</title>
  <style>
    body {
      font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
      margin: 40px;
      background: #f5f5f5;
    }
    h1 { margin-bottom: 10px; }
    .container {
      max-width: 700px;
      background: white;
      padding: 20px;
      border-radius: 6px;
      box-shadow: 0 2px 6px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
    }
    input, button {
      padding: 8px;
      margin: 5px 0;
    }
    button {
      cursor: pointer;
    }
    ul {
      list-style: none;
      padding: 0;
    }
    li {
      display: flex;
      justify-content: space-between;
      padding: 10px;
      border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="container">
    <h1>Simple Marketplace</h1>

    <h3>Add Item</h3>
    <input id="name" placeholder="Item name" />
    <input id="price" type="number" placeholder="Price" />
    <button onclick="addItem()">List Item</button>

    <h3>Market Listings</h3>
    <ul id="market"></ul>
  </div>

  <script>
    const market = [];

    function renderMarket() {
      const ul = document.getElementById("market");
      ul.innerHTML = "";

      market.forEach((item, index) => {
        const li = document.createElement("li");
        li.innerHTML = `
          <span>${item.name} — $${item.price}</span>
          <button onclick="buyItem(${index})">Buy</button>
        `;
        ul.appendChild(li);
      });
    }

    function addItem() {
      const name = document.getElementById("name").value;
      const price = document.getElementById("price").value;

      if (!name || !price) return alert("Enter name and price.");

      market.push({ name, price });
      document.getElementById("name").value = "";
      document.getElementById("price").value = "";

      renderMarket();
    }

    function buyItem(index) {
      const item = market[index];
      alert(`You bought ${item.name} for $${item.price}`);
      market.splice(index, 1);
      renderMarket();
    }
  </script>
</body>
</html>

The Temple is brought down. A new one waits to be built; or rather coded.

Davos Part 6: Reflections on the Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Pix credit here

 

What must it be like now to be Volodymyr Zelenskyy? What must it be like now to be Ukraine? I suspect, perhaps, like it was to be as one of the many consumable places, like Poland, in the aftermath of the  Diplomatic Revolution of 1756? Or perhaps like it was to be a fine plump roast goose at a dysfunctional family meal where the only thing that binds those at table are their hunger (and I mean that in all its senses).  President Zelenskyy offers us a reason or two and in the process holds a mirror up to all of the self satisfied and moralistic creatures (I had other terms but this one will do) at the great political herd rutting that is Davos (Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy).  

In the process, the President of Ukraine reminds the rest-- with the same pathos as Haile Selassie did in his time, and as Rejtan is said to have attempted at the Partition Sejm, that morals, like interests, is a commodity the character of which is framed to suit the times and the lusts and the characteristics of those with the power to deploy them, as well as those who have no choice but to endure them. President Zelenskyy explained in terms that perhaps even the delegates their claques of commentators, amplifiers and collared intelligentsia could understand by reference to age appropriate  move analogy: 

Everyone remembers the great American film “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. But no one would want to live like that – repeating the same thing for weeks, months, and, of course, for years. And yet, that’s exactly how we live now. And it’s our life. And every forum like this one proves it. Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words: “Europe needs to know how to defend itself.” A year has passed – and nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I must say the same words.

But why? (Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy).

President Zelenskyy asks the right question.  Nonetheless, nothing in the answer satisfies; even less so when the mirror of that explanation exposes the character of morals and values that serve as sparkly baubles rather than as signifying premises that guide whatever form the fundamental political lines of the emerging great states and their blocs take. Worse, perhaps, it suggests that, whether one clings to the values of the ancien regime or embraces any of the value sets now on offer in the great bazaar of public sovereign morality, their realities are better observed in the picture of Dorian Gray than by any contemplation of physical form (or certainly anything that might ooze from their propaganda departments). The disgust, should there be cause for any, might then emerge not from the lack of morals, or their contingency, but from nearly a century of wrapping the community of states within a moral universe that, in the exists, exists only in the minds of the dead. 

Pix credit here

But President Zelenskyy cannot say that. Indeed, he needs these rutting states and might have cause for the scraps from the Davosian Satyricon in which they congratulate themselves, and are pandered into doing so with gusto by those dependent on that self referencing cycle of feel-good self-congratulation of. . . . themselves. 

Pix credit here

All of this comes through; but only in the most genteel way possible. Like Noel Coward entertaining his gentrified hosts ("The Stately Homes of England" from Operette (1938)) President Zelenskyy performs for the only thing that matters to him--the preservation of the Republic of Ukraine, or as much of it as he can preserve after its first partition in 2014 (no one really likes to dwell on this, at the height of the ancien regime and perhaps a harbinger of its collapse, if only because it was the very titans of the old order (about which nothing negative may be suggested), at least as the bards will remember them in centuries to come, did little but engage in the most delightful political performances within their Petit Trianon of their multilateral rules based palaces) of that time 

So where is all the discursive commotion?  

1. When all else fails rub one's benefactors' noses in their own hypocrisies and weaknesses. Here we have a modern rendition of Coward's "The Stately Homes of England" but as tragedy. 

Each year brings something new – for Europe and for the world. Everyone turned attention to Greenland. And it’s clear – most leaders simply are not sure what to do about it. And it seems like everyone is just waiting for America to “cool down” on this topic, hoping it will pass away. But what if it will not? What then?

There was so much talk about the protests in Iran – but they drowned in blood. The world has not helped the Iranian people enough. And it’s true – it has stood aside. In Europe, there were Christmas and New Year celebrations. The seasonal holidays. By the time politicians came back to work and started forming a position – the Ayatollah had already killed thousands. And what will Iran become after this bloodshed? If the regime survives, it sends a clear signal to every bully: kill enough people, and you stay in power. Who in Europe needs that message to become a reality?

And yet – Europe hasn’t even tried to build its own response. (Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy).

The best thing of all is that for society's trained to sleep through the sermonizing of their religious leaders this feels vaguely comforting for the small tingle of guilt it may produce. And, at any case, it helps enhance the glories of the discursive performances of European leaders (see here), and produce some donations. But it also produces enough fear among some that they will be moved to action, especially those who may feel that they are next on the Russian menu (see, eg., The Presidents of Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania Agreed That Their Teams Will Work to Strengthen Cooperation Within PURL and SAFE – Volodymyr Zelenskyy). 

2. At least the Americans own up to their own self-serving agendas, except when they don't. President Zelenkyy may be excused for reminding his audience, in a charming way, of their own elastic approaches to matching sentiment, and morals, to action. 

Let’s look at the Western Hemisphere. President Trump led an operation in Venezuela. And Maduro was arrested. And there were different opinions, but the fact remains: Maduro is on trial in New York. Sorry, but Putin is not on trial. And this is the fourth year of the biggest war in Europe since World War II – and the man who started it is not only free, he’s still fighting for his frozen money in Europe. And you know what? He’s having some success.(Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy).

 Yet President Zelenskyy is grateful for small favors, especially when one can direct interest in money in ways that may have collaterally beneficial effect.  Aaaaahhh money remains the great motivator, even of those who value the expression of their morals in a more quantifiably certain way.  "It’s Putin who’s trying to decide how the frozen Russian assets should be used – not those who have the power to punish him for this war. Thankfully, the EU decided to freeze Russian assets indefinitely – and I am grateful for that – thanks, Ursula, thanks, António, and all the leaders who helped. But when the time came to use those assets to defend against Russian aggression, the decision was blocked. Putin managed to stop Europe. Unfortunately." (Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy). And, of course, President Zelenskyy notes that the Americans have every reason to resist the regime of the International Criminal Court, as does China. But what remains mystifying is the way that  this opposition has stymied a European approach to disciplining one of its own. The foundational issue for Europe is Europe itself; it glories in its own simulacra, one in which rhetoric has the power of action and action is magically undertaken by others. 

Some Europeans are really strong. It’s true. But many say: “We must stand strong.” And they always want someone else to tell them how long they need to stand strong. Preferably – until the next election. But that’s not how great power works, to my mind. Leaders say: “We must defend European interests.” But they hope someone else will do it for them. And speaking of values they often mean valuables. * * *And we’ve told our European partners multiple times: act now. Act now against those missiles in Belarus. Missiles are never just decoration. But Europe still remains in “Greenland mode” – maybe… someday… someone will do something." (Ibid.)

There are many reasons for this; some are quite powerful. Yet whether one takes the high road or that other to the realities of Europe today, the  end point appears to be the same. The idea of Europe remains strong; its bureaucracies remain a powerful element for weaving institutional Europe together. But Europe is also a magical place where things can happen without great inconvenience or cost. This is not just a European thing--it appears that all people everywhere, when they reach a certain level of opulence begin to believe in magic, and with it the magic of their power is dissipated in the thoughts about magical solutions. Perhaps, then, Ibn Khaldun, speaking to us from 14th century North Africa was right after all: 'assabiyah (عصبيّة) extends to four generations before it is dissipated.   

3. "A plague o'both your houses." Mercutio spoke true enough, but the reality of his situation became clear only at the moment he was crushed between the needs and desires of those who consume "middle powers" (a reference to the now well known remarks of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney).  

MERCUTIO. No, ’tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but ’tis enough, ’twill serve. Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o’ both your houses. Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death. A braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic!—Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.
ROMEO. I thought all for the best. ("Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (Act III, Scene 1)).

President Zelenskyy  spends some time working through the list that the cupidity and weaknesses of both houses make possible (at least as a function of their purported moral-normative stances).

We all see that the forces trying to destroy Europe do not waste a single day – they operate freely, even operate inside Europe. Every “Viktor” who lives off European money while trying to sell out European interests deserves a smack upside the head. And if he feels comfortable in Moscow, it doesn’t mean we should let European capitals become little Moscows.

And I thank every country, of course, and every company that helps Ukraine repair its energy system. This is crucial. Thank you to all who support the PURL program, helping us buy Patriot missiles. But wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier to just cut Russia off from the components it needs for missile production? Or even destroy the factories making them? * ** And we still have the coordinates of the factories where they’re made. Today, they target Ukraine. Tomorrow, it could be any NATO country.

Too often, people hide behind the excuse that “China helps Russia.” Yes, it does. But not only China. Russia gets components from companies in Europe, the United States, and Taiwan. Right now, many are investing in stability around Taiwan. To avoid war… But can Taiwanese companies stop contributing electronics to Russia’s war? Europe says almost nothing. America says nothing. And Putin makes missiles.

And here, in Europe, we’re advised not to mention Tomahawks to the Americans – not to spoil the mood. And we’re told not to bring up Taurus missiles. When the subject is Türkiye, diplomats say – don’t offend Greece. When it’s Greece, they say be careful with Türkiye. In Europe, there are endless internal arguments and things left unsaid that stop Europe from uniting and speaking honestly enough to find real solutions.* * * Europe remains a beautiful but fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers. Instead of taking the lead in defending freedom worldwide, especially when America’s focus shifts elsewhere – Europe looks lost, trying to convince the U.S. President to change. But he will not change. President Trump loves who he is. And he says he loves Europe. But he will not listen to this kind of Europe. (Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy).

My personal favorite is the longer story of the comical effort to confront the United States over its Greenland ambitions that President Zelenskyy relates: 

And if you send 30 or 40 soldiers to Greenland – what is that for? What message does it send? What’s the message to Putin? To China? And even more importantly, what message does it send to Denmark – the most important – your close ally? You either declare that European bases will protect the region from Russia and China – and establish those bases – or you risk not being taken seriously because 30 or 40 soldiers won’t protect anything." (Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy).

Perhaps what is needed is a refreshingly honest abandonment of the old performative morality in favor of something more honest. That, perhaps, is a redeeming characteristic of America First. But I leave that to others to judge. That, however, is too painful. And that is President Zelenskyy's more subtle messaging. That Europe continues to believe that it is 1911.  If they do not align their policies to their realities the only thing that will remain will be discursive ghosts wafting around spaces filled with the eagerness of masterless intelligentsia and their civil society organs ( 浪人, ronin)--like those who floated around the globe on the dissolution of the Soviet Union until they were taken in elsewhere. Yet that applies with equal force to Russia, which in the minds of sum have been reduced, in all its majesty, as a majestic shadow manifesting American dreams of market (transactional/investment) exploitation, and Chinese dreams of resource exploitation. 

4. Sometimes your friends need a pep talk, especially if your own life depends on it.  That brings President Zelenskyy to the conclusion of his remarks, a pep talk to a Europe than may not be capable of listening, much less acting. It is a pity really. President Zelenskyy appears to understand that Europe may save itself only by saving Ukraine; that more is at stake for Europe in Ukraine than the politics of dealing with the absorption of a middling Republic by an ancient form of Empire. Yet Europe is undergoing its own Austro-Hungarian moment, when its parts would explode its solidarity and in fracture make them all easier to consume. Perhaps that might be the fate of Europe--the final resting point for a process of disintegration that began in the 19th century and acquired a tremendous momentum from 1914. But is it inevitable; President Zelenskyy believes otherwise as to do others. 

We should not degrade ourselves to secondary roles – not when we have a chance to be a great power together. We should not accept that Europe is just a "salad" of small and middle powers, seasoned with enemies of Europe. When united, we are truly invincible. And Europe can and must be a global force. Not one that reacts late, but one that defines the future. * * *  And Europe must be strong. And Ukraine is ready to help – with anything needed to guarantee peace and prevent destruction. We are ready to help others become stronger than they are now. We are ready to be part of a Europe that truly matters – a Europe of real power – great power. Today, we need that power to protect our own independence. But you need Ukraine’s independence, too, because tomorrow, you may have to defend your way of life.(Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy).

The Americans and the Chinese have each made their choices; they will have to live with them. Each will change them in substantial ways. Europe, President Zelenskyy argues, must also choose, or in not choosing, disintegrate.   

 

Pix credit here, Painting, Jan Matejko, Rejtan at the Partition Sejm (The Fall of Poland) (1866)

The Davos speeches considered for 2026 include the following:

1. Davos 2026 Part 1--Remarks of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

2. Davos 2026 Part 2--Remarks of U.S. President Donald Trump

3. Davos 2026 Part 3--Remarks of  China's Vice Premier He Lifeng

4. Davos 2026 Part 4-- Remarks of EU President Ursula von der Leyen

5. Davos 2026 Part 5-- Remarks of Argentina President Javier Milei

6. Davos 2026 Part 6--Address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy