The Impact of the West on Post-Socialist countries

Unfortunately, Serbia belongs to a large group of countries which cannot boast of independence. The current situation in the world is disappointing. The majority of countries cannot afford an independent domestic and foreign policy.

Today, the impact of the West is undeniable, even when we are talking about countries much more powerful than Serbia.

Speaking about the impact of the West on the current political system in Serbia, it is necessary to recall that after the collapse of the USSR, the West took all necessary steps to take all the former "socialist" states under its control. I write "socialist" in quotes because these countries were just as much socialist as they are now "democratic" under the influence of the West. Both characteristics are purely ideological.

Serbia's current political system, as with the majority of other "post-socialist" countries, is undoubtedly under the direct control of Western governments. Western-type political institutions were built despite or even on the contrary to the history, traditions, and cultural, political, economic and other characteristics of each of these countries. I see this as the major problem in the practical operation of these systems. This was clear to the ancient philosophers who studied political systems. Aristotle opposed Plato's doctrine of the universal state, as he claimed that different people need different institutions of political power. This statement has been confirmed through the centuries! Machiavelli also said that the form of a regime depends on the political situation, culture, people and capabilities of the prince. The Famous French political theorist Jean Bodin wrote: "The basis of state power is adaptation to the conditions and characteristics of the citizens and their unwritten laws which correspond to the place, time and people." All this was abandoned by the political systems of "post-socialism". The new "democratic" political elite evaluated the quality of public institutions by the degree of similarity to the Western model.

The West has influenced these countries in various ways. Professor Miroslav Pechuylich describes three main levels of pressure: economic exploitation, political domination, and spiritual manipulation. In the case of Serbia, the US also used the most brutal military force. All of these actions, including military force, have been constantly accompanied by the use of so-called "soft power". Today, we can see that the West is still using the “soft power” of mass media to control the population. Five of the world's largest media groups own more than half of all media on the planet, and four of them are based in the USA (one in Germany).

Today, tastes, fashion, behavior, and even the notion of truth are put in a universal framework, regardless of traditions.

To sum up, we can say that, in today's world, many countries, in addition to Serbia, are suppressed by the the dictatorship of the West. This applies not only to the "small" countries, but also to such large formations as the EU. America's role as a "hegemon" is obvious and very real. The question is whether this situation will remain unchanged.

History is inexorable: "In the struggle for hegemony, Spain and Portugal were overthrown by Holland. Holland was thrown off by England. At the end of the 19th century, the United States took the position of the global hegemon. Later, this position was compromised by the appearance of the Soviet Union. But when it collapsed, America was the only contender for global leadership '' (M. Pechuylich).

Does this mean the end? We will see