War, Violence and the Language of Humiliation

It’s Back. Putin, Will Smith and How World War III Has Begun

A million words have been written about the whys, wherefores and implications of Will Smith’s slap to Chris Rock on March 27th, 2022. For me the proximate cause is uncomplicated. Smith’s family is falling apart. He’s publicly cuckolded and getting older, more susceptible to lashing out when a small humiliation triggers pent up rage.

Vladimir Putin gave the order, on February 24th, 2022, to invade Ukraine because he too, is in a loveless marriage to his people, publicly humiliated by other World Leaders.

One of the most famous acts of violence, born of humiliation, occurred on June 12th, 1994 when O. J. Simpson, at the age of 47, repeatedly knifed and killed his ex-wife Nicole and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman. The proximate cause? They didn’t save him a seat at his daughter’s dance recital earlier in the evening. Nor was Simpson included in the family celebration afterwards.

Why can’t we restore peace after these violent acts? They seem so quick, brutal and a few minutes later, absurd. Because…well… we can’t. We have to take sides. We don’t want to, but we can’t help it.

Millions of people admire Will Smith. Millions admire Putin. Millions admired O.J Simpson. There’s nothing more difficult in human nature than changing from admiration to disgust.

How does one cope with the shame of a hero gone bad? Simple, we excuse it.

We do everything but focus on our complicity.

The recent culture wars have been an effort to remove humiliation by erasing, or re-writing, the past. In theory that should help, but it just makes matters worse because people start to believe they’ve eliminated the source of humiliation.

We can’t prevent humiliation. But, in the domain of war, it can be managed through diplomacy and economic equality. That was the conclusion of those who survived the two World Wars.

In around 1980 I was a freshman at the University of Denver. I wanted to start a literary journal. I applied for funding. The three professors I met asked me about my “editorial policy”. I lectured them on freedom of expression and accused them of “establishment bullshit”.

I can remember them smiling, laughing after the meeting. At the time, I felt it vindicated my judgement. Today I realize they were touched by my sincerity and only wanted to impress upon me the importance of civil discourse. It flew far over my head, as it does to the young today.

Today, a college student would most likely get asked about their specific views, not their policy of civil discourse.

My summing up of the World Wars is a worldwide working out of millions of festering grievances and humiliations born of vast increase in wealth inequality (from earlier technological advances), made exponentially worse by the wealthy pretending it had nothing to do with them. These inequalities existed everywhere, from people living on the same street to nations trading with each other. This working out lead to 60 million killed.

It wasn’t until every military in the world was completely exhausted that everyone took a good hard look in a mirror.

Civics and diplomacy then became moral imperatives.

80 years later, we’re back at that starting line.

In our generation, I hoped the internet would allow enough communication between people, businesses and governments, to work through future humiliations. It has, to an extent, but all those gains have been wiped out by its ability to amplify them as well.

No one alive today, who matters, remembers the consequences of humiliation from the 1910s through the 1940s. It’s in thousands of history books, but they are rarely read. Even if read, nothing teaches like the loss of a brother or son in a place one has never visited and can barely pronounce.

Today, humans don’t get that climate change is a real threat. Humans can’t work together to eradicate a simple virus.

Anyway, I’m just writing this to say, today’s increase in domestic violence and war is no surprise. Once again, we will learn the hard way.

I leave you with Putin’s speech on the day of the invasion, with all the prejudicial names taken out. Below that, I leave the Declaration of Independence by the American colonies. Reading both, I hope you get a feel for the language of humiliation.

Recognize that, no matter the incomprehensible violence that follows, the antecedents of humiliation are neither irrational nor unreasonable. We can disagree, but we can’t dismiss the feelings and perspective of the humiliated.

We can’t say for certain that had Biden flown over to Russia, with other World leaders, and worked out a deal with Putin, that Ukraine would have been invaded.

Although certainly worth reading in their entirely, I encourage you at least skim these documents to decide if you believe humiliation is a contributing factor to the Russia - Ukraine War and if we could have done more to address it.

Putin, February 24th, 2022

It is a fact that over the past 30 years we have been patiently trying to come to an agreement … regarding the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe. In response to our proposals, we invariably faced either cynical deception and lies or attempts at pressure and blackmail, while the … alliance continued to expand despite our protests and concerns. Its military machine is moving and, as I said, is approaching our very border.

Why is this happening? Where did this insolent manner of talking down from the height of their exceptionalism, infallibility and all-permissiveness come from? What is the explanation for this contemptuous and disdainful attitude to our interests and absolutely legitimate demands?

The answer is simple. Everything is clear and obvious. In the late 1980s, [we] grew weaker and subsequently broke apart. That experience should serve as a good lesson for us, because it has shown us that the paralysis of power and will is the first step towards complete degradation and oblivion. We lost confidence for only one moment, but it was enough to disrupt the balance of forces in the world.

As a result, the old treaties and agreements are no longer effective. Entreaties and requests do not help. Anything that does not suit the dominant state, the powers that be, is denounced as archaic, obsolete and useless. At the same time, everything it regards as useful is presented as the ultimate truth and forced on others regardless of the cost, abusively and by any means available. Those who refuse to comply are subjected to strong-arm tactics.

What I am saying now does not concerns only …, and … is not the only country that is worried about this. This has to do with the entire system of international relations, and sometimes even … allies. The collapse of … led to a redivision of the world, and the norms of international law that developed by that time — and the most important of them, the fundamental norms that were adopted following WWII and largely formalized its outcome — came in the way of those who declared themselves the winners of the Cold War.

Of course, practice, international relations and the rules regulating them had to take into account the changes that took place in the world and in the balance of forces. However, this should have been done professionally, smoothly, patiently, and with due regard and respect for the interests of all states and one’s own responsibility. Instead, we saw a state of euphoria created by the feeling of absolute superiority, a kind of modern absolutism, coupled with the low cultural standards and arrogance of those who formulated and pushed through decisions that suited only themselves. The situation took a different turn.

There are many examples of this. First a bloody military operation was waged against …, without the UN Security Council’s sanction but with combat aircraft and missiles used in the heart of Europe. The bombing of peaceful cities and vital infrastructure went on for several weeks. I have to recall these facts, because some … colleagues prefer to forget them, and when we mentioned the event, they prefer to avoid speaking about international law, instead emphasising the circumstances which they interpret as they think necessary.

Then came the turn of …. The illegal use of military power against … and the distortion of all the UN Security Council decisions on … ruined the state, created a huge seat of international terrorism, and pushed the country towards a humanitarian catastrophe, into the vortex of a civil war, which has continued there for years. The tragedy, which was created for hundreds of thousands and even millions of people not only in … but in the whole region, has led to a large-scale exodus from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe.

A similar fate was also prepared for …. The combat operations conducted by the … coalition in that country without the … government’s approval or UN Security Council’s sanction can only be defined as aggression and intervention.

But the example that stands apart from the above events is, of course, the invasion of … without any legal grounds. They used the pretext of allegedly reliable information available in the … about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in …. To prove that allegation, the … held up a vial with white power, publicly, for the whole world to see, assuring the international community that it was a chemical warfare agent created in …. It later turned out that all of that was a fake and a sham, and that … did not have any chemical weapons. Incredible and shocking but true. We witnessed lies made at the highest state level and voiced from the high UN rostrum. As a result we see a tremendous loss in human life, damage, destruction, and a colossal upsurge of terrorism.

Overall, it appears that nearly everywhere, in many regions of the world where the … brought its law and order, this created bloody, non-healing wounds and the curse of international terrorism and extremism. I have only mentioned the most glaring but far from only examples of disregard for international law.

This array includes promises not to expand … eastwards even by an inch. To reiterate: they have deceived us, or, to put it simply, they have played us. Sure, one often hears that politics is a dirty business. It could be, but it shouldn’t be as dirty as it is now, not to such an extent. This type of con-artist behavior is contrary not only to the principles of international relations but also and above all to the generally accepted norms of morality and ethics. Where is justice and truth here? Just lies and hypocrisy all around.

Incidentally, …, political scientists and journalists write and say that a veritable “empire of lies” has been created inside the … in recent years. It is hard to disagree with this — it is really so. But one should not be modest about it: the … is still a great country and a system-forming power. All its satellites not only humbly and obediently say yes to and parrot it at the slightest pretext but also imitate its behavior and enthusiastically accept the rules it is offering them. Therefore, one can say with good reason and confidence that the whole so-called … formed by the … in its own image and likeness is, in its entirety, the very same “empire of lies.”

As for our country, after the disintegration of the …, given the entire unprecedented openness of the new, modern …, its readiness to work honestly with the … and other … partners, and its practically unilateral disarmament, they immediately tried to put the final squeeze on us, finish us off, and utterly destroy us. This is how it was in the 1990s and the early 2000s, when the so-called collective … was actively supporting separatism and gangs of mercenaries in …. What victims, what losses we had to sustain and what trials we had to go through at that time before we broke the back of international terrorism in …! We remember this and will never forget.

Properly speaking, the attempts to use us in their own interests never ceased until quite recently: they sought to destroy our traditional values and force on us their false values that would erode us, our people from within, the attitudes they have been aggressively imposing on their countries, attitudes that are directly leading to degradation and degeneration, because they are contrary to human nature. This is not going to happen. No one has ever succeeded in doing this, nor will they succeed now.

Despite all that, in December 2021, we made yet another attempt to reach agreement with the … and its allies on the principles of European security and … non-expansion. Our efforts were in vain. The … has not changed its position. It does not believe it necessary to agree with … on a matter that is critical for us. The … is pursuing its own objectives, while neglecting our interests.

Of course, this situation begs a question: what next, what are we to expect? If history is any guide, we know that in 1940 and early 1941 the … went to great lengths to prevent war or at least delay its outbreak. To this end, the … sought not to provoke the potential aggressor until the very end by refraining or postponing the most urgent and obvious preparations it had to make to defend itself from an imminent attack. When it finally acted, it was too late.

As a result, the country was not prepared to counter the invasion by …, which attacked our …on June 22, 1941, without declaring war. The country stopped the enemy and went on to defeat it, but this came at a tremendous cost. The attempt to appease the aggressor ahead of the Great Patriotic War proved to be a mistake which came at a high cost for our people. In the first months after the hostilities broke out, we lost vast territories of strategic importance, as well as millions of lives. We will not make this mistake the second time. We have no right to do so.

Those who aspire to global dominance have publicly designated … as their enemy. They did so with impunity. Make no mistake, they had no reason to act this way. It is true that they have considerable financial, scientific, technological, and military capabilities. We are aware of this and have an objective view of the economic threats we have been hearing, just as our ability to counter this brash and never-ending blackmail. Let me reiterate that we have no illusions in this regard and are extremely realistic in our assessments.

As for military affairs, even after the dissolution of the … and losing a considerable part of its capabilities, today’s … remains one of the most powerful nuclear states. Moreover, it has a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons. In this context, there should be no doubt for anyone that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country.

At the same time, technology, including in the defense sector, is changing rapidly. One day there is one leader, and tomorrow another, but a military presence in territories bordering on …, if we permit it to go ahead, will stay for decades to come or maybe forever, creating an ever mounting and totally unacceptable threat for ….

Even now, with … eastward expansion the situation for … has been becoming worse and more dangerous by the year. Moreover, these past days … leadership has been blunt in its statements that they need to accelerate and step up efforts to bring the alliance’s infrastructure closer to …’s borders. In other words, they have been toughening their position. We cannot stay idle and passively observe these developments. This would be an absolutely irresponsible thing to do for us.

Any further expansion of the …’s infrastructure or the ongoing efforts to gain a military foothold of the … are unacceptable for us. Of course, the question is not about … itself. It merely serves as a tool of … policy. The problem is that in territories adjacent to …, which I have to note is our historical land, a hostile “anti-…” is taking shape. Fully controlled from the outside, it is doing everything to attract … armed forces and obtain cutting-edge weapons.

For the … and its allies, it is a policy of containing …, with obvious geopolitical dividends. For our country, it is a matter of life and death, a matter of our historical future as a nation. This is not an exaggeration; this is a fact. It is not only a very real threat to our interests but to the very existence of our state and to its sovereignty. It is the red line which we have spoken about on numerous occasions. They have crossed it.

This brings me to the situation in …. We can see that the forces that staged the coup in … have seized power, are keeping it with the help of ornamental election procedures and have abandoned the path of a peaceful conflict settlement. For eight years, for eight endless years we have been doing everything possible to settle the situation by peaceful political means. Everything was in vain.

As I said in my previous address, you cannot look without compassion at what is happening there. It became impossible to tolerate it. We had to stop that atrocity, that genocide of the millions of people who live there and who pinned their hopes on …, on all of us. It is their aspirations, the feelings and pain of these people that were the main motivating force behind our decision to recognize the independence of the …’s republics.

I would like to additionally emphasize the following. Focused on their own goals, the leading … countries are supporting the far-right nationalists and neo-Nazis in …, those who will never forgive the people of … for freely making a choice to reunite with ….

They will undoubtedly try to bring war to … just as they have done in …, to kill innocent people just as members of the punitive units of … nationalists and Hitler’s accomplices did during the Great Patriotic War. They have also openly laid claim to several other … regions.

If we look at the sequence of events and the incoming reports, the showdown between … and these forces cannot be avoided. It is only a matter of time. They are getting ready and waiting for the right moment. Moreover, they went as far as aspire to acquire nuclear weapons. We will not let this happen.

I have already said that … accepted the new geopolitical reality after the dissolution of the …. We have been treating all new post-… states with respect and will continue to act this way. We respect and will respect their sovereignty, as proven by the assistance we provided to … when it faced tragic events and a challenge in terms of its statehood and integrity. However, … cannot feel safe, develop, and exist while facing a permanent threat from the territory of today’s ….

Let me remind you that in … we used our military to push back against terrorists in the … and stood up for the integrity of our state. We preserved …. In …, we supported the people of …. In …, we used our Armed Forces to create a reliable shield that prevented terrorists from … from penetrating …. This was a matter of defending ourselves. We had no other choice.

The same is happening today. They did not leave us any other option for defending … and our people, other than the one we are forced to use today. In these circumstances, we have to take bold and immediate action. The people’s republics of … have asked Russia for help.

In this context, in accordance with Article 51 (Chapter VII) of the UN Charter, with permission of …’s …, and in execution of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the … and the …, ratified by the … Assembly on February 22, I made a decision to carry out a special military operation.

The purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the … regime. To this end, we will seek to demilitarize and denazify …, as well as bring to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including against citizens of the … .

It is not our plan to occupy the … territory. We do not intend to impose anything on anyone by force. At the same time, we have been hearing an increasing number of statements coming from the … that there is no need any more to abide by the documents setting forth the outcomes of World War II, as signed by the …. How can we respond to that?

The outcomes of World War II and the sacrifices our people had to make to defeat Nazism are sacred. This does not contradict the high values of human rights and freedoms in the reality that emerged over the post-war decades. This does not mean that nations cannot enjoy the right to self-determination, which is enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter.

Let me remind you that the people living in territories which are part of today’s … were not asked how they want to build their lives when the … was created or after World War II. Freedom guides our policy, the freedom to choose independently our future and the future of our children. We believe that all the peoples living in today’s …, anyone who want to do this, must be able to enjoy this right to make a free choice.

In this context I would like to address the citizens of …. In …, … was obliged to protect the people of … from those who you yourself call “nats.” The people of … made their choice in favor of being with their historical homeland,…, and we supported their choice. As I said, we could not act otherwise.

The current events have nothing to do with a desire to infringe on the interests of … and the … people. They are connected with the defending … from those who have taken … hostage and are trying to use it against our country and our people.

I reiterate: we are acting to defend ourselves from the threats created for us and from a worse peril than what is happening now. I am asking you, however hard this may be, to understand this and to work together with us so as to turn this tragic page as soon as possible and to move forward together, without allowing anyone to interfere in our affairs and our relations but developing them independently, so as to create favorable conditions for overcoming all these problems and to strengthen us from within as a single whole, despite the existence of state borders. I believe in this, in our common future.

I would also like to address the military personnel of the ….

Comrade officers,

Your fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers did not fight the Nazi occupiers and did not defend our common Motherland to allow today’s neo-Nazis to seize power in …. You swore the oath of allegiance to the … people and not to the junta, the people’s adversary which is plundering … and humiliating the … people.

I urge you to refuse to carry out their criminal orders. I urge you to immediately lay down arms and go home. I will explain what this means: the military personnel of the … army who do this will be able to freely leave the zone of hostilities and return to their families.

I want to emphasize again that all responsibility for the possible bloodshed will lie fully and wholly with the ruling … regime.

I would now like to say something very important for those who may be tempted to interfere in these developments from the outside. No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that … will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history. No matter how the events unfold, we are ready. All the necessary decisions in this regard have been taken. I hope that my words will be heard.

Citizens of …,

We always need to be strong, but this strength can take on different forms. The “empire of lies,” which I mentioned in the beginning of my speech, proceeds in its policy primarily from rough, direct force. This is when our saying on being “all brawn and no brains” applies.

We all know that having justice and truth on our side is what makes us truly strong. If this is the case, it would be hard to disagree with the fact that it is our strength and our readiness to fight that are the bedrock of independence and sovereignty and provide the necessary foundation for building a reliable future for your home, your family, and your Motherland.

Dear compatriots,

I am certain that devoted soldiers and officers of …’s Armed Forces will perform their duty with professionalism and courage. I have no doubt that the government institutions at all levels and specialists will work effectively to guarantee the stability of our economy, financial system and social wellbeing, and the same applies to corporate executives and the entire business community. I hope that all parliamentary parties and civil society take a consolidated, patriotic position.

At the end of the day, the future of … is in the hands of its multi-ethnic people, as has always been the case in our history. This means that the decisions that I made will be executed, that we will achieve the goals we have set, and reliably guarantee the security of our Motherland.

I believe in your support and the invincible force rooted in the love for our Fatherland.

Declaration of Independence

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the …, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these …; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present … is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these …. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of … Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these …:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our … brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of …, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these … are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the …, and that all political connection between them and the …, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Or Maybe We Never Learned After the World Wars

1953 Uprising in East Germany
1955–1959 Cyprus Emergency
1956 Uprising in Poznań
1956 Hungarian Revolution
1956–1962 Operation Harvest
1958 Opération Corse
1958 First Cod War
1959–2011 Basque conflict
1961–1967 South Tyrol insurgency
1962–1964 Jura conflict[3]
1967 Greek coup d’état
1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
1968–1998 The Troubles
1970–1984 Unrest in Italy
1972 Bugojno group
1972–1973 Second Cod War
1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus1
974 Carnation Revolution
1975–1976 Third Cod War
1975 Portuguese coup d’état attempt
1976–present Corsican Insurgency
1981 Spanish coup d’état attempt
1986 Evros River incident
1991 Croatian homeland war
1989 Romanian Revolution
1990–1991 Soviet attacks on Lithuanian border posts
1991 January Events — Latvia
1991 The Barricades- Lithuania
1990 Log Revolution — Croatia
1991–2001 Yugoslav Wars
1991 Ten-Day War
1991–1995 Croatian War of Independence
1992–1995 Bosnian War
1992–1994 Croat–Bosniak War
1998–1999 Kosovo War
1992 Transnistria War
1997–1998 Cyprus Missile Crisis
1997 Albanian civil war of 97
1997 Operation Libelle
2001 Georgia, Kodori crisis
2001 Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia
2011–2013 North Kosovo crisis
2014 Russia invades Crimea