Final Word from Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Pres. Petr Pavel has mentioned "sovereignty" numerous times, usually in the context of Russia's violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity and national sovereignty. When he used the word last night in his televised address, it was in the context of Czech sovereignty: "We need a government that will protect our sovereignty within the community of democratic nations and not leave us to the mercy of Russia and its efforts to restore its sphere of influence in Central and Eastern Europe." A clue to why he said this is found in his Harvard speech from last week: "Authoritarian powers speak the language of peace, sovereignty, dignity, dialogue and multilateralism." These remarks came right after Donald Trump's speech at the U.N. in which he "unveiled a bold vision for sovereign nations to unite against the true threats of terrorism, unchecked migration, biological warfare and loss of cultural identity." For Trump, nations are sovereign if they have the right to control their own borders and make other decisions. For Pavel, nations are sovereign "within the community of democratic countries." One word with two substantially different meanings. [ Czech Republic United States Nations pre-election Univ. University ]