A Failure of Deterrence According to foreign policy ârealists,â the tale we are being told about Vladimir Putinâs unprovoked war in Ukraine is a fiction. Realists like to be known for their clear-eyed appreciation of the realities of global power, and in their telling, responsibility for the war does not lie chiefly with Brian Stewart 17 Mar 2022 · 6 min read
Privilege-Checking in a World on Fire Privilege is a sham mark of opprobriumâthose who decry the privilege of others tend to want more of it for themselves. The dissemblance is all the more distasteful given that the detractors of privilege typically possess, comparatively speaking, an abundance of it. One need not be conversant in history David A. Eisenberg 15 Mar 2022 · 5 min read
Ukraine: On the Fault Line Between East and West Ukrainian nationalism and its clear expression as part of a larger European identity has burst into the open with the power of a hydrogen bomb. Michael J. Totten 14 Mar 2022 · 11 min read
Ukraine and the Pro-Putin Right Reactions to Russiaâs war in Ukraine have become a perfect demonstration of the âhorseshoe theory,â according to which the extremes of Left and Right must converge. Amid overwhelming international condemnation of Russia and sympathy for the Ukrainiansâ courageous resistance, Putin-friendly voices blaming the West, NATO, and particularly the United Cathy Young 12 Mar 2022 · 12 min read
Remind the Kremlin of Its Weakness From the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, discussions about the war in the West have been permeated by a dangerous tone of complacency and self-congratulation. The Russian military has indeed been exposed as less than effective, and Ukrainian bravery has resonated among the public worldwide Dalibor RohĂĄÄ 11 Mar 2022 · 7 min read
The New Great Game Russiaâs invasion of the Ukraine will be remembered as one of the great crimes of the 21st century. The ensuing humanitarian crisis has already caused more than two million refugees to flee their homeland. With the imposition of sanctions, policymakers will have to weigh their political options as a Joel Kotkin and HĂźgo KrĂźger 9 Mar 2022 · 10 min read
Vladimir Putinâs Medieval Mindset In 1338, the story has it, a notorious French exile named Robert of Artois strutted into the London palace of King Edward III, bearing a stuffed heron on a silver platter. âClear the way, you miserable failures,â he said to the assembled lords. âI have a heron ⌠the most cowardly Jonathan Kay 3 Mar 2022 · 5 min read
An Englishman in Russia Bids His Daughter Farewell I am an Englishman in Southern Russia. For nearly four years Iâve lived here, helping my Russian ex-partner bring up our (now) eight-year-old daughter. At 9 oâclock last night I saw both of them onto a sleeper-train to Moscow. From there they will fly to Italy and the Robert Ginzburg 28 Feb 2022 · 6 min read
The New Eurasian Century The current crises in eastern Europe reflect more than just Kremlin mischief-makingâthey reflect the first fruits of an emerging world order that spans the vastness from Beijing to Berlin. Unlike the longstanding liberal status quo, with its roots in classical civilization and the Enlightenment, this emerging alternative draws upon Joel Kotkin 15 Feb 2022 · 9 min read
Ukraine in the Balance As I write this, Vladimir Putin has moved more than 100,000 troops to Russiaâs Ukrainian border, and has strongly implied that he will invade absent an ironclad guarantee that Ukraine will never be permitted to join NATO. Although the Biden administration has rejected that demand, a chorus of Brian Stewart 14 Feb 2022 · 10 min read
What Putin Really Wants On Russian President Vladimir Putinâs desk sits a bronze statue of Peter the Great, the tsar who spent his four decades in power waging war on neighbors to establish his country as a great power in Europe. Peter would have understood the nature of the current conflict in Eastern Christopher Miller 14 Feb 2022 · 8 min read
This Is About More Than Ukraine In the early days of World War Two, George Orwell published a marvelous essay entitled âEngland Your England.â With the Luftwaffe in the skies above London laying waste to the city, Orwell observed a peculiarly contemptible trait of the English intelligentsia. In a word, this portion of the national elite Brian Stewart 28 Jan 2022 · 6 min read
Taiwan, Ukraine, and Huntingtonâs Clash of Civilisations Revisited Putin believes that the current crisis puts principled opposition to authoritarian empire-building at odds with the imperatives of faith and history, as well as the pragmatic imperative of keeping Germans supplied with energy. John Lloyd 24 Dec 2021 · 9 min read
