'Europe Has to Give Up Its Freudian Denial About What's Happening in the United States and Mobilise'

Award-winning American journalist Heidi Siegmund Cuda speaks to Professor of Intellectual History Marci Shore on where Europe finds itself amid the aggression of Vladimir Putin

Dr Marci Shore. Photo: Rotislav Kostenko

Heidi Siegmund Cuda: As I travel through Europe, there seems to be a disconcerting lack of awareness about Russia’s war in Ukraine, even though its outcome will directly impact Europe’s future. How do you see this?

Marci Shore: Heidi, you’re travelling mostly in Western Europe. I’m travelling mostly in east-central Europe, and am currently in Lithuania, where the war does feel very present. Lithuanians, while not panicked per se, are preparing for war. This is true in Poland as well, and from what my colleagues there tell me, I sense also in Latvia, Estonia, and Finland.

Are European leaders finally moving in a more united direction to combat Russian aggression? Are they doing enough?

I’m sure there are things happening behind the scenes that I don’t know about, but my short answer would be yes: they are moving in a more united direction, but painfully cautiously and agonisingly slowly. Europe has to give up its Freudian denial about what’s happening in the US and mobilise.

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