When self-interest is about survival, not power

Every nation protects its sovereignty through the value of self-interest. The intersection of a nation’s self-interest creates alliances such as NATO, the European Union (EU) and state to state agreements. The misalignment of self-interests leads to conflicts such as the Iraq war, Syria and now in the Ukraine. Armenia has experienced this lack of commonality with aggressive neighbors for centuries. The latest version of this historic dilemma is the Turkic alliance of Turkey and Azerbaijan. The United Nations (UN) was founded based on the respect of sovereignty of each nation, and billions of dollars are spent each year to enforce and mediate these principles. As we have painfully witnessed in our lifetime, the UN, international courts and the European courts are subject to political bias or gridlock and lack any effective enforcement mechanism when judgements are made. The well-documented war crimes of Azerbaijan in the 2020 war are a clear example of the existing anarchy that enables nations to commit criminal acts against another. Recognizing an act or articulating displeasure are common, but realizing justice is entirely a different story. Large nations serve their self-interests to essentially protect their power and influence on the world stage.