When leaders and their followers start clamoring for the return of past greatness, as they are today, beware!
A century ago, in a frightening foreshadowing of the events of our time, three nations--Turkey, Japan, and Germany--embarked on perilous journeys of national greatness. Those journeys would reshape history and forever alter their countries’ fates.
The Ottoman Empire, once a vast and mighty realm, found itself diminished as the 20th century dawned. Its borders, which once included Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia, had shrunk to the size of modern day Turkey. A group called the Young Turks, driven by visions of past glory, seized control of the country from the Sultan with dreams of reclaiming lost territories. They believed that their path to greatness lay in purging their country of its non-Turkic and non-Muslim elements and in expanding eastward into Russia and the Caucasus. Screened by the chaos of World War I, the Turks orchestrated a series of genocides, claiming countless Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian lives. Yet, their imperial ambitions soon crumbled as they found themselves on the losing side in war. Their dreams of revival turned to dust as millions died.
Across the seas, Japan awoke from centuries of self-imposed isolation to the thunderous roar of Commodore Perry’s gunboats. Realizing their tremendous vulnerability, Japanese leaders embarked on a whirlwind of modernization and militarization to make themselves the equal of western powers. Their success was meteoric--victories in wars against China, Russia, and Korea bolstered their confidence. Emboldened, Japan annexed Korea and invaded Manchuria and China. Their quest for dominance led them to attack the United States in the Pacific and conquer much of Southeast Asia. But their reach exceeded their grasp. Overextended and outmatched, Japan had to accept an unconditional surrender and the ultimate humiliation of being occupied by a foreign power.
In the heart of Europe, Germany’s rise as an economic and military powerhouse was cut short by its defeat in World War I. The harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty left the nation reeling, its people feeling betrayed and humiliated. From this cauldron of despair, Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power, promising to restore Germany’s greatness. Initially successful in revitalizing the economy and the military, Hitler’s ambitions knew no bounds. He invaded and conquered much of Europe and Russia, leaving a trail of devastation and genocide in his wake. But Germany’s revitalization strategy, built on aggression and exclusion, ended in catastrophic defeat. The nation that sought to rule Europe lay in ruins, never to regain its former status.
Stories from the past should serve as stark reminders of the perils that await today’s leaders seeking national rejuvenation at any cost. But sadly, they do not!
As the whole world watches, new and very disturbing chapters of the search for greatness story new are unfolding in Russia, China, and the United States. All three of these countries are in the early stages of pursuing the same types of imperialistic, militaristic, and supremacist programs that were so aggressively embraced by their predecessors in Ottoman Turkey, Imperial Japan, and Nazi Germany.
Russia is conducting a brutal war in Ukraine, mercilessly targeting civilians, destroying vital infrastructure, and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands. China is undertaking a massive military buildup, threatening Taiwan with an imminent invasion, bullying its neighbors, and destroying all traces of the Muslim religion in Xinjiang. The new Trump administration, although only a few weeks old, is threatening seizure of its neighbors’ territory in Greenland, Panama, and Canada, undermining the U.S. democracy through executive fiat, and destabilizing important alliances that underpin world security.
While it is always dicey to try to predict future outcomes based on past events, the parallels between the past and present are simply striking here. History is continuing to whisper its warning, reminding us that the pursuit of greatness has usually led, not to triumph, but to tragedies in which nations are destroyed…Is anyone listening?