The Politics of Fear

In times of existential fear, we must be especially wary of believing that reason will win out. The war in Ukraine is a current tragic example of this as it highlights transgressions committed by another country that are normally considered unthinkable – and unthinkable precisely because they do not come from a rational source.

Many commentators have pointed to Putin’s fear of death as a reassurance that he would surely not put himself at risk of self-destruction, despite his implicit threats of nuclear attack. This is dangerously faulty reasoning that is blind to the unconscious dynamics of Putin’s vision of a Russian empire, shared by a substantial part of the Russian population. Putin’s vision is so powerful because it fills an ideological political vacuum left by the fall of the USSR. It is now, at least in Putin’s script, a cause worth dying for, re-establishing the belief that there is also a Motherland worth dying for and certainly worth sacrificing for in the wake of Western sanctions. At the same time, reports of Russians’ fear of conscription indicate growing resistance to soldiers being used as cannon fodder for Putin’s war.

Putin’s vision can be likened to religious cults that aim to convert non-believers into their faith and cleanse the world of those who remain outside their faith. This has been the hallmark of terrorist groups attacking Western culture. The aim is to restore purity of identity and in this way to be closer to God’s image of man. This cult-like mentality is uncannily reminiscent of the ideals promoted by Hitler under the Third Reich; ideals that transcend mortality and life itself.

We only have to look back at the end of the Third Reich to be reminded of the Nazi propaganda that death is preferable to failure and an ignominious end. Putin might well unconsciously choose glory and martyrdom for the cause of Empire, thereby securing everlasting life in the minds of the Russian people, over the humiliation of failing in his cause. The unconscious has its own trajectory and is well known for not listening to reason. Paradoxically, it is our belief in reason - "Putin would never do a thing like that!" – that puts us in greatest peril. A cornered rat will only attack with greater ferocity.