Once upon a time, in East Germany, a drab authoritarian-socialist place, the dreaded Stasi secret police called this method âZersetzung,â literally âdisintegration.â Instead of jailing dissidents, their social and professional lives â and livelihoods â were systematically disrupted and, in effect, destroyed. Between the dour authoritarian-socialists of the old Cold War and the high-handed EU radical-centrist extremists of the new âvaluesâ crusade, les extrĂŞmes se touchent, as they used to say.
The expectable psychological consequences of this repression â anxiety, stress, and trauma â are, of course, not a by-product of the procedure but its real core aim. Obviously, every independent voice silenced by arbitrary assault is meant to serve as a deterrent to terrorize many others into submission. All of it happens without legal due process and by an unaccountable bureaucracy hiding behind anonymity. Welcome to the EU, 2025 âvaluesâ edition. Rule of law was yesterday (if ever).
