Russia in Global Affairs

We must again tread the path to stabilization and peaceful coexistence. But we will first need to set foot on that path.

The NATO war in Ukraine against Russia has been prolonged and intensified, as increasing hostilities. If we understand violence as the acceleration of time, the longer the conflict lasts, the greater its consequences will be.

The US-led bloc no longer offers the only viable model for development, which means its ability to impose its will is fading.

In 2021, Russia’s foreign policy seems to have entered a new stage. Let us call it the “constructive destruction” of the previous model of relations with the West.

Europe’s reliance on the U.S. is no longer sustainable. Glenn Diesen introduces an alternative. If the Russian-Chinese partnership gains sufficient geoeconomic power, it can integrate Europe with Asia into a Eurasian supercontinent. In this scenario the EU can diversify its partners and avoid excessive dependence on one player or region.

As America behaves, so Russia feels justified in pursuing like-minded behavior aligned to its own security interests, that the West has routinely rejected or simply ignored.

The news covering the Ukraine conflict causes many to pause and wonder if the world is on the verge of a new world war. Why is this so and, most importantly, what is to be done?

The gathering storm over Ukraine is potentially the most dangerous crisis in Europe since the end of the Cold War.  A large scale Russian military attack on Ukraine would cause enormous civilian and military casualties, overturn prior assumptions about the rules-based international order, and risk escalation to wider conventional, or even nuclear, war.

Russia’s advantage comes from the fact that its military capabilities in the potential zone of conflict are far beyond those of the US and NATO, and that Russia is in a position to apply force should the worst possible scenario be realized. America’s advantage lies in its international dominance over the realm of media and information. In reality, no one wants a military solution.