Every now and then (more often than that, actually) a leader comes along who has grand ambitions for not only his/her nation, but for him/herself. Mussolini is a perfect example of this type. He didn't call himself Mussolini when he ruled--he called himself Il Duce. Not an ordinary man, but The Leader. His plans for Italy were not confined to improving life for Italian citizens. The plans were grander than that. He wanted to create a new Roman Empire, with Italy at its center and with him as its leader. Mussolini wanted for himself an out-sized legacy.
Mussolini intended to be a figure who would loom large in history books. Realizing his vision meant going to war. It meant death for thousands. It meant destruction and displacement of thousands. If only fortune would spare us such visionary leaders. Alas it does not.
Today the world is offered two leaders who conspicuously fit the Mussolini grand ambition mold: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Both men have at their disposal greater resources than Mussolini ever had. Both men have grand territorial ambitions that reflect a sense of history. They do not view their countries in the context of fixed borders, but imagine a more historically consequential plan: sweeping territorial expansion.
One revealing sign that these two leaders have epic ambition is the antecedents the men hold up as ideal. Putin reveres Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, largely because of these rulers' imperial achievements. Through the combined regimes of Peter and Catherine, the borders of 'Mother' Russia were vastly expanded.
Trump holds in great regard (I'm not sure he reveres anyone who is not named Trump) Presidents James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, William McKinnley, and Theodore Roosevelt. Each one of these presidents asserted the right for the U.S. to exert authority beyond its territorial limits.
What should we understand about Putin and Trump's idea of the perfect leader? What does this tell us about their own ambition, about their own goals for themselves and their countries?
I took a look back through time at leaders who had grand ambitions and who expanded the territory of their countries through war. Two names came to mind immediately: Napoleon (France) and Frederick the Great (Prussia). These two loom large in the annals of European history. Napoleon, of course, had the greater footprint, but Frederick also was instrumental in altering the fortunes of many countries.
Who did Napoleon admire? Who did he hold up as an inspirational example? And Frederick...was he moved to action by one ideal leader? Was there someone whose example he consciously emulated in his desire to create a greater Prussia?
Napoleon looked to Charlemagne for his inspiration--Charlemagne, who conquered most of Europe some 10 centuries before Napoleon's rule. Did Napoleon see himself as a modern Charlemagne?
On the website Napoleon.org I found the following statement:
Napoleon visits Charlemagne. On becoming emperor on 18th May, 1804, Napoleon thought it time to visit his “predecessor”...So he went to Aix-la-Chapelle to temper his historical legitimacy with the memory of Charlemagne.
On another website, Vision.org I found the following statement: "...in 1809, he told papal emissaries, 'Look at me closely. In me, you see Charlemagne. I am Charlemagne! Yes, I am Charlemagne!'" .
Below is a map that shows the territorial expansion under Charlemagne's rule (Note, he came to power in 768 and died in 814:
Image credit: Sémhur Used under CC 3.0, 2.5. 2.0, and 1.0 licenses
Below is a map of Napoleon's empire at its peak, in 1812 (before the Russian campaign) in Europe,
Credit: Alexander Altenhof, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Frederick the Great may not be as well known as Napoleon to many in the U.S., but his territorial ambitions led to the War of Austrian Succession and eventually to the Seven Years War, which reached across the globe. Frederick's role models were Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.
On the website Modern Stoicism I found the following statement:
In truth, Frederick’s first ancient role models were not philosophers at all but warriors. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar were the men he most wanted to emulate. As anyone who studies the life and times of Frederick the Great will soon recognize, the most powerful motivation of his behaviour was not the desire to achieve wisdom but to win military glory. “Of all the goods life has to offer”, he wrote, “is fame by far the greatest; long after the body has become dust, the great name lives on.” And the quickest path to fame was through a victorious war. Upon marching into Silesia, Frederick even equated his action with Julius Caesar’s exploits, declaring that he had “crossed the Rubicon”.
It is not a leap (given the quote from Modern Stoicism, and other sources) to say that Frederick's wars of conquest were directly inspired by his role models.
***(See the Appendix at the end of the blog for maps of Alexander's and Caesar's Empires)
Trump and Putin
Do the chosen role models for Putin and Trump help to explain their current behavior and their aspirations for the future? I think we can look at their own words for guidance.
****** Trump's Idols ******
Almost immediately upon taking office in 2024 Trump made some startling statements. He expressed a desire to make Canada part of the U.S. He asserted the right to absorb Greenland into the U.S. He asserted claims, long relinquished, over the Panama Canal. He renamed the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. At first these actions elicited chuckles, along with embarrassment, in many observers. However, as time passes Trump's ambition for territorial expansion and his desire for legacy become more serious. Consistently he turns to historical figures to legitimize his goals.
Map of us in 1828 to 1834 (Jackson took office in 1829):
User:Golbez.Multi-license with GFDL and Creative Commons CC-BY 2.5
Map of U.S. 1837-1838 (Jackson left office in 1837)
User:Golbez.Multi-license with GFDL and Creative Commons CC-BY 2.5
From the Miller Center at the University of Virginia about Jackson's legacy: "His aggressive Indian removal policy and his espousal of cheaper western land prices reflected his nationalism's grounding in the southwestern frontier...In 1814, (Jackson) forced upon the Indians a treaty whereby they surrendered to the United States over twenty-million acres of their traditional land—about one-half of present day Alabama and one-fifth of Georgia. Over the next decade, Jackson led the way in the Indian removal campaign, helping to negotiate nine of the eleven major treaties to remove Indians."
William McKinley (Here is a statement from The Atlantic Council on Trump's view of McKinley: "Trump lauded McKinley’s support for high tariffs and his setting the stage for the United States to seize a piece of Panama to build the Panama Canal, an expansionist move. Though Trump did not refer to it explicitly, McKinley is perhaps best remembered for his role in using the Spanish-American War of 1898 to acquire the Philippines and Puerto Rico and to annex Hawaii. But in mentioning McKinley, Trump was forecasting his future moves more than admiring the past".) In addition to the territories already mentioned, under McKinley the U. S. "... annexed Guam, the eastern Samoan islands, and occupied Cuba, and even seized Spain’s large Asian colony, the Philippines." In each case, the territory was seized after armed conflict.
Theodore Roosevelt: the 'Talk softly and carry a big stick president'. (At an address before Mt. Rushmore Trump said of Roosevelt: "Theodore Roosevelt exemplified the unbridled confidence of our national culture and identity. He saw the towering grandeur of America’s mission in the world and he pursued it with overwhelming energy and zeal...He sent our great new naval fleet around the globe to announce America’s arrival as a world power.") Roosevelt gained international status for negotiating the end to the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The Miller Center: "As President, Roosevelt wanted to increase the influence and prestige of the United States on the world stage and make the country a global power". He seized Panama Canal territory from Colombia. Issued Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine, which stated:"the United States would intervene in any Latin American country that manifested serious economic problems. The corollary announced that the United States would serve as the "policeman" of the Western Hemisphere".
****** Putin's Idols ******
Putin has referred to both Peter and Catherine the Great as ideal representatives of Russian history. In reading over the records of these two rulers, it seems Peter created the modern Russian state and engaged in many wars. However, the territory of Russia did not expand as much under Peter as it did under Catherine. She took Russia's resources and the organizational strengths established by Peter, and waged wars of expansion. Under her, the territorial boundaries of Imperial Russia expanded markedly. Refer to the Interactive map here to view the relative increases in territory for both Peter and Catherine.
Peter the Great: (From "The Guardian": Putin has compared himself to the 18th-century Russian tsar Peter the Great, drawing a parallel between what he portrayed as their twin historic quests to win back Russian lands. Putin said during the dedication of a statue to the tsar: "“Peter the Great waged the great northern war for 21 years. It would seem that he was at war with Sweden, he took something from them. He did not take anything from them, he returned what was Russia’s,”)
From World History.org. Peter the Great "took the title of Emperor of All Russia in 1721, marking Russia’s formal emergence as an empire...he reorganized the Russian army along Western European lines, built a modern navy from scratch, and pursued aggressive territorial expansion, particularly along the Baltic Sea...Peter's policies reshaped Russian society, governance, and identity, laying the groundwork for its role as a dominant Eurasian power."
Catherine the Great: (From the website "War on the Rocks": Putin has said that Catherine achieved victory with less cost than Peter, and that he admires this. Catherine the Great led Russia during this era, and Putin seems to identify with her. Putin remembers her as a conqueror and founder of cities.) From the BBC's website: "During her reign (Catherine) extended the Russian empire southwards and westwards, adding territories which included the Crimea, Belarus and Lithuania. Agreements with Prussia and Austria led to three partitions of Poland, in 1772, 1793, and 1795, extending Russia's borders well into central Europe". And from the Atlantic Council: in 2022 : "Crucially, Putin has harked back to Catherine the Great in his attempts to provide historical justification for the invasion of Ukraine and the capture of Odesa. Likewise, Kremlin officials and regime proxies have actively revived the term “Novorossiya” (“New Russia”), which was coined during Catherine’s reign to refer to her imperial possessions in southern Ukraine. In areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, Catherine’s legacy has been used to legitimize the Kremlin’s claims".
Conclusion
Well, that was a lot of words, wasn't it? Researching and writing took some time, but the issue is deadly serious, emphasis on deadly. Every single one of the named 'heroes', the idols of Trump and Putin (except James Monroe) spilled blood to achieve his/her goals.
Territory is seized by force. It is not handed over freely. The grand ambition to expand empire may sound noble from the distance of centuries, but the people who were killed, the property destroyed in fulfillment of ambition doesn't look so fine up close.
We have now two world leaders who unabashedly express the desire to extend their territorial reach and influence far beyond their borders. We should listen to these leaders. We should understand what their plans will cost us (are now costing us and others), in blood and treasure.
Appendix:
Here is a map of Alexander's empire at the height of his power:
Credit: Generic Mapping Tools, CC 3.0 Share and share alike license
And here is a map of Caesar's conquests at the height of his power:
Credit User:Historicair, Ifly6 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
