...post-truth was declared the word of the year by the Oxford Dictionary, on both sides of the Atlantic. Without a doubt - fully deserved. Post-truth is otherwise understood as a state in which the facts do not necessarily have a decisive influence on the processes in society, that is, that dualism - the truth against which lie stands, simply does not produce consequences in the political or wider social environment. The phenomenon of post-truth was the key actor in almost all important events during 2016, from the American elections to Brexit. Thus, zealous chroniclers of the American election campaign determined that more than two-thirds of Trump's statements in the campaign did not correspond to the facts. A similar thing happened in the Brexit campaign, after which the main promoter of Brexit, Nigel Farge, admitted that he had lied in the campaign that 350 million pounds were transferred from Britain to the EU every week.
But then it was too late.
And in 2016, the beginning of the end of the European Union began. At least as we knew it until then. The British people chose Brexit in the referendum, thus making the until then one-way course of EU history in the direction of expansion and integration extremely uncertain and/or at least a two-way process. EU citizens were more and more often shaken from the dream of prosperity, stability and security within the EU walls, due to the nightmare of terrorism, the strengthening of radical right-wing forces, the large influx of migrants and refugees, to finally wake up in the post-Brexit and post-truth EU. There are fewer and fewer voices calling for "more Europe" and further integration and enlargement. It has been repeated several times, and it remains an apparently still unlearned lesson, that if the EU does not (p)remain an exporter of stability and security, primarily to the Western Balkans, but also to the wider region that includes the countries covered by the EU's neighborhood policy, through responsible and coherent policies, that it will very soon become a major importer of instability. The political casino of the internal politics of the member states is increasingly dominated by types of dangerous intentions such as Fica, Orban, and not only in the so-called countries. of the new Europe, who interpret the ideas on which the EU was founded, very flexibly without bothering too much with procedural restrictions.
And, in 2016, the world of politics finally and completely merged with the world of reality shows and show business. Although there was a reasonable suspicion of such a thing before, with the entry of Donald Trump, businessman and reality show star into the White House, it became so obvious that it could no longer be ignored. The administration that will be led, according to the announcements, will be made up of people with interesting commitments and intentions. From the candidate for secretary of state, the director of the giant Exon Mobile, Rex Tillerson, the holder of the Russian Order of Friendship who does not have an excessively rich diplomatic experience, but has his own interests and the interests of the company he led, which do not necessarily coincide with the current foreign policy of the US administration (one an example is the contract that Exon mobile made with the Government of Russia on oil exploration in Antarctica, which are currently on ice due to sanctions against Russia), and to the proposed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who advocates for the privatization of education and the reduction of allocations for public education. Appointments in the fields of defense and security are no less interesting, where the appointment of retired general James Mattis, known as a mad dog, certainly attracted public attention due to his radical views and beliefs. The very end of the election race and the period immediately after it was marked by the hacking of the Democrats' election headquarters, for which the US administration and law enforcement agencies accused Russia of providing direct support to Trump by hacking e-mails, which he was aware of.
All this indicates that the transition from the old one to this administration will be fraught with challenges, especially considering the very nonchalant style of the new president and not being a slave to diplomatic conventions. In 2016, the coup attempt in Turkey marked the country's entry into a deep crisis and further deep divisions in society. Mass arrests including journalists and university professors as a reaction to the attempted coup, strained relations with the EU and the US, open enmity with the Kurds, and Turkey's increasingly active role in the conflict in Syria raise numerous questions about the future of this country. Negotiations with the EU and the abolition of visas do not seem like a certain option at the moment, and Turkey is getting closer to Russia, causing the suspicion of NATO allies.
However, in 2016, the president of Russia had the most reason to be pleased. Although still under sanctions, the result of the American elections, the development of events in the EU (Brexit and the strengthening of the right), the aggressive military campaign in Syria, as well as the rapprochement with Turkey are the reasons that make 2016 extremely successful for President Putin.
Meanwhile, the Balkan states with authoritarian leaders at the head easily found inspiration, support and protection in the authoritarian leaders of Russia and Turkey, whose presence is increasingly pronounced in the region. The EU accession process has acted as a moving target before, with current developments within the EU itself, it looks like a distant uncertain future.
This year, 2017, will apparently be no less interesting and post-truthful. Relations between the EU and Turkey threaten to escalate by abandoning the agreement on the resolution of the refugee crisis, which would mark a new mass wave of refugees that would undoubtedly occur if Turkey opens its borders, and the scene of such a development would be precisely the Balkans, bearing in mind that the hermetically sealed EU countries would not allow the influx of a new wave via the Balkan route. The recent failed referendum in Italy as well as upcoming elections in the Netherlands, Germany and France may bring to power or significantly strengthen the radical right. Therefore, an additional wave of terrorist attacks with the aim of influencing the results of the elections cannot be ruled out. Such a development of events would mean paying less and less attention to the expansion of the EU and further closing the EU members into national frameworks, which would leave the already unstable Western Balkans in the wind of the geopolitical marketplace. Happy new, post-truth 2017!
(6yka.com)
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