‘UN totally impotent, but world needs such a place’ – Slavoj Zizek speaks to RT

The 70th anniversary UN General Assembly has entered its third week, with RT providing special coverage of all the key debates and high-profile speeches. Famous Slovenian philosopher, Slavoy Zizek shared his unconventional view of the event.

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As part of the special coverage, RT gives you the latest experts’ opinions on what is happening at UNGA.Cultural philosopher Slavoj Zizek, famous for his straightforward, yet sometimes absurdist theories, also shared his concerns about the future of Ukraine, as well as thoughts on Russia-Ukraine relations.

On Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko:

“He plays on this ambiguity: he wants to be – at the same time – perceived by the West as open, democratic, pluralist, and so on, but at a certain different level, he plays hardline Ukrainian nationalist…”

On Russia-Ukraine relations:

“I’m an old-fashioned Leninist here… It was the Bolsheviks in the first 10 years of the Soviet Union who created Ukraine as a full nation, and then it was Stalinism in the ‘30s which limited all this. So in a way, Stalinism returned to the tsarist politics…”

On the UN:

“Although I think that the UN is a totally impotent organization, but sometimes great powers need such a place, where somehow, precisely because it is impotent, everyone can state ... [their] position and maybe open some space for understanding”

On Ukraine’s future:

“What I fear is that Ukraine will become another part of the world where there will be some kind of half-peace, without a unified state power structure, and it will just go on, the same way that it does, for example, in Lebanon which no longer exists as a state. But the paradox is, it is relatively successful economically. And this worries me, that there are more and more of these type of ‘neither war nor peace’ parts of the world”

You can watch the whole interview with cultural philosopher Slavoj Zizek below.

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