Autonomy (as in “European strategic autonomy”) Integral part of French political folklore when addressing Europe’s future. It rarely catches on elsewhere, however, with the exception of German coalition agreements, where it is mandatory to overuse it. Calls for it are never followed up by concrete steps that would help to enable it, such as giving up the permanent French UN Security Council seat for the EU, or Europeanizing the French nuclear deterrent.
Deterrence Long neglected, it is making a comeback in European debates—because there is reason to fear that deterrence is continuously deteriorating under the pressure of Russia and China’s “hybrid attacks.” Getting rid of nuclear sharing used to be a staple of German election campaigns. No more. Keeping the US nuclear umbrella extended over Europe’s skies is a consensus now, thanks to Putin’s permanent nuclear signaling.
Diplomacy The term “diplomatic solution” is often used emphatically in contrast to military or other means of coercion (like sanctions)—ignoring that diplomacy without any backing of force is unlikely to settle violent conflicts. Diplomacy is misrepresented as an alternative to power politics, not as one political tool that can only work in combination with others.
Escalation This is something Ukraine or Ukraine’s supporters do. It is not something Russia does, or those enabling Russia’s war against Ukraine.
European army An expression of European helplessness. Calling for the establishment of a European army is most commonly found in political party platforms across the continent.
Global South A term of yearning used in Europe to describe the aim of creating a more just world in terms of the economic and political order. Speaking of the Global South often means Europeans are failing to recognize the many and growing differences between those countries once described as “emerging market economies.” A few are actively enabling Russia’s continued war against Ukraine; one is co-fighting it (North Korea).
Multipolar world A pseudo-descriptive term used to speak about today’s (or tomorrow’s) world, pretending it is a statement of fact. It was first introduced by the Russian (a certain Sergey Lavrov) and Chinese UN ambassadors in 1997, in a letter to the UN General Assembly. They argued against “Western hegemony” after the end of the Cold War and described the aim of a new order of autocratic states in “Eurasia”—geared against Washington and Brussels and shielded by the principle of non-intervention.
Realism Camouflage term for calling on Ukrainians to give up their fight against Russian aggression. Used by those in Europe who argue against continued support for Ukraine. Their argument: Great nuclear powers such as Russia cannot be defeated and have a sort of “natural right” to their spheres of influence. Ironically, the realists’ assessment of Russia is unrealistic—as would an attempt to base a future world order on the law of the jungle.
Security guarantees The more it becomes clear that the only real guarantee—NATO membership—is off the table for Ukraine, the more the debate about security guarantees takes off. The best the Ukrainians can hope for is continued support for their self-defense, which is what the pompous term “security guarantees” actually means.
Snooze button (as in “hitting the snooze button”) A phrase to describe the default European response to any adverse development affecting the continent’s security.
Wake-up call Rhetorical device used when something bad happens to Europe that was neither unforeseen nor surprising but Europeans previously found too uncomfortable to address. Does not normally lead Europeans to take action (cf. snooze button).
Jörg Lau’s column “Around the World in 80 Phrases” appears regularly in German in Internationale Politik. A collection will be published as a book in March 2025. Henning Hoff contributed to this A to Z.
