France 5 broadcasts a documentary, written by Jean-François Colosimo, which analyzes the emergence of imperialist logics of major powers that are threatening the integrity of Europe.
Roman, Ottoman, British, or French … The notion of empire seems to belong to another time. However, many countries still display a strong desire to extend their influence: Russia with Ukraine, China with Taiwan, as well as Turkey, India… not to mention the United States since Donald Trump’s arrival. Eager for resources and, for some, keen to regain past glory, these powers are trying to expand their hegemony by breaking away from multilateralism and the rules that have prevailed since the end of World War II.
A return to power dynamics is decoded by the documentary “The Empires Strike Back,” written by the essayist Jean-François Colosimo and directed by Nicolas Glimois, airing on Sunday, April 12 at 9:05 p.m. on France 5. By revisiting the history of the 20th century, the film sheds light on the mechanisms that have led to the fragmentation of the world order.
“We were promised universal peace, but perpetual war seems to be looming,” says Jean-François Colosimo in this historical fresco composed in part of unpublished archives. The director thus revisits in his film the exploits of Vladimir Putin, the most enlightening illustration of his analysis. The Russian president, who never accepted the collapse of the USSR, has always stated his intention to restore Russia’s territorial greatness from imperial and Soviet times. To do so, he engages in interference and the use of force: he subdues Chechnya, occupies South Ossetia, Crimea, and Donbass before eventually invading Ukraine in 2022, triggering a war that shakes and weakens the entire Europe.
Vladimir Putin is not the only one dreaming of an empire, XI Jinping, the Chinese president, aims to surpass the United States and become the leading economic and military power by 2049, the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. These two leaders are joined in their aspirations by their main partners in the BRICS, Indian Narendra Modi and Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who are trying to increase their influence and gradually expand their sovereignty.
The desire to recreate empires is not the only commonality among these autocrats, also driven by a sense of revenge against a West they constantly denounce and discredit, dreaming of overthrowing, as analyzed by Jean-François Colosimo. “Denouncing collectively the lying and malevolent West, corrupt and corrupting, its false moral order, its hypocritical hegemony”: this is the goal of what the essayist describes as neo-imperialists. While the transatlantic alliance is once again threatened by Donald Trump, who spares no criticism of NATO, the documentary shows that the United States is not immune to imperialist temptation. An additional risk of destabilization for the global order.
The documentary “The Empires Strike Back,” written by Jean-François Colosimo and directed by Nicolas Glimois, will air on Sunday, April 12 at 9:05 p.m. on France 5 and is available on the france.tv platform.
