Andrew Sheng

Opinion | Ukraine, Gaza wars reveal how, for the West, it’s a jungle out there

The idea of a Western garden under threat from the unruly jungles of the rest of the world is at the heart of today’s global rifts

The Ukraine conflict basically pushed Russia out of the Western garden, just as the Gaza conflict revealed that Israel, as a Western outpost, can commit atrocities with impunity

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A Ukrainian serviceman walks among damaged trees on the front line near the town of Kreminna, in eastern Ukraine, on February 6. The West explains the Ukraine war in terms of standing on principle – the enemy struck the first blow and is therefore the bully – ignoring history and context. Photo: Reuters

Andrew Sheng

Published: 3:00pm, 10 Feb 2024Updated: 6:47am, 11 Feb 2024

Travelling in the deep jungles of Danum Valley in Sabah last month, I had little access to the internet and more time to reflect on why we are in a permacrisis.

In 2022, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell controversially described Europe as “a garden” where “everything works” in “the best combination of political freedom, economic prosperity and social cohesion” – unlike most of the rest of the world, which he likened to “a jungle” that “could invade the garden”.

“The gardeners,” he added, “have to go to the jungle. Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world.”

Last year, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan used “small yard and high fence” when talking about protecting critical US technologies from China. The idea of a Western garden under threat from the unruly jungles of the rest of the world is at the heart of today’s global rifts.

The beating of war drums at the borders of the West and the Rest not only draws a line between Western civilisation and the perceived barbarism of the Rest, it also shows the West’s emphasis on science and rationality as a cover for its raw emotions over its identity and power insecurities.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Ukraine and Gaza wars. The West explains both conflicts in terms of standing on principle – the enemy struck the first blow and is therefore the bully – ignoring history and context. The Ukraine conflict basically pushed Russia out of the Western garden, just as the Gaza conflict revealed that Israel, as a Western outpost, can commit what much of the world sees as genocide on Palestinians with impunity.