How thin-skinned does a country have to be to actually care about the street name near their embassy?
I read a lot of articles by foreign affairs wonks. One thing I do not understand is their total obsession with "projecting strength" or for countries to otherwise appear strong. Inevitably, what they mean by projecting strength involves killing people. But why doesn't these wonks write articles about the incredible insecurity and weakness national leaders project when they feel threatened by a purely symbolic act like a street name change? (IMHO, nothing makes the people ruling Russia look weaker than the fact they care see the name of the street in front of a building they own in a foreign country as a threat. Slaughtering a bunch of Syrians won't change that)
I read a lot of articles by foreign affairs wonks. One thing I do not understand is their total obsession with "projecting strength" or for countries to otherwise appear strong. Inevitably, what they mean by projecting strength involves killing people. But why doesn't these wonks write articles about the incredible insecurity and weakness national leaders project when they feel threatened by a purely symbolic act like a street name change? (IMHO, nothing makes the people ruling Russia look weaker than the fact they care see the name of the street in front of a building they own in a foreign country as a threat. Slaughtering a bunch of Syrians won't change that)
