The influence of spy novels
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact generated great anxiety among readers of espionage novels. Without Karla, what enemy would George Smiley have? Fortunately, authors like John le Carré showed their creativity and explored new territories where spies worked for MI5 or the CIA.
Spectre: The Terrifying Organization
One of the most iconic characters is James Bond, who benefited from the existence of the terrifying organization Spectre, a creation of Ian Fleming. Spectre, short for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, was and is the symbol of evil, an army of evil people who want to control the world as quickly and as lethally as possible. Famous members of Spectre include the leader, Erns Stavro Blofeld, and many other cruel characters such as Doctor No, Goldfinger, Emilio Largo, Francisco Scaramanga and Rosa Klebb.
reality overcomes fiction
Fiction would not exist without reality, but it can reach incredible levels thanks to the imagination of the authors. Ian Fleming would have wanted to be like his character James Bond, but he manipulated him through his novels. Cinema, with actors such as Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Daniel Craig, brought this character to life and continued his story after Fleming’s death.
The rise of the extreme right
But now, reality seems to have overtaken fiction. Specter has become a tangible reality, with the likes of Donald Trump and Steve Bannon trying to control the world. Bannon is the grand designer of destabilization, with a plan to destroy democracy as we know it after World War II. He uses his intelligence to turn the planet into a powder keg, all under the banner of individual freedom, uncomplicated capitalism and nationalism.
The expansion of Bannon’s ideology
Bannon has advised several far-right parties in Europe, such as Marine Le Pen’s National Front, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz, Santiago Abascal’s Vox and Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia. These politicians are Bannon’s political children and follow his totalitarian principles. The expansion of Bannon’s ideology can be seen in the results of the European Parliament elections, where far-right parties have gained ground.
Conclusion
In short, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact marked a before and after in the world of espionage. Fiction has been able to reflect this reality and, in some cases, reality has surpassed fiction. Today, people like Steve Bannon are trying to control the world with their extremist ideas, and their followers are the political children of that ideology. We must be alert and defend democratic values to combat this threat.
