Reminiscent of tensions during the Cold War, the Ukraine crisis represents the most serious East-West confrontation since the end of the Soviet Union. A Ukrainian guard patrols the border with Russia near Hoptivka village, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, 2 February 2022. (AP...
For a deeper dive into the history leading up to the war in Ukraine, consider this report from Daniel Warner, a political scientist, lecturer and expert in international organizations. While diplomatic negotiations have failed, the article provides an overview to decode historic ties between Russia and Ukraine, NATO’s actions, the potential impact on energy supply chains and thoughts on the future of the security architecture of international alliances.
Exercise: This article was written three weeks before the conflict began. Ask students to compare the theoretical discussion of conflict to what is happening in reality. What do they think was the tipping point for Russia to invade?
Ukraine and Russia have swapped prisoners, to the chagrin of investigators exploring the downing of a passenger jet. But will the swap promote peace? Ukrainians protest against the release of Volodymyr Tsemakh, a possible witness to the downing of the MH17 Malaysia...
NATO continues to grow in size but not necessarily in strength. Can the 70-year-old military alliance withstand forces weakening its foundations? Today, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is celebrating a big birthday: It’s been 70 years since the world’s most...
Ukraine has had two revolutions and a war since 2004 but is still mired in conflict and graft. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, 7 May 2018. (EPA-EFE/Mykhaylo Markiv) Four years ago, the then nascent war in eastern Ukraine suffered...
Visiting Ukraine, would I find a grim, tense nation shaking off its Soviet past and at war with itself? I discovered a vibrant society and hopeful youth. “Heavenly Hundred” Memorial. (Photo by Bernd Debusmann, Jr.) Landing in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev...
New U.S. sanctions on Russia might look like just another diplomatic move following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. But they could have dire consequences. Part of the U.S. embassy in Moscow, Russia, 28 July 2017. (EPA/Sergei Chirikov) The U.S. Congress has...
Donald Trump shocked Europeans when he called NATO “obsolete.” But the threat the continent faces from Russia is not conventional war. Estonian soldiers during NATO exercise near Vilnius, Lithuania, 2 December 2016.(EPA/Olivier Hoslet) Is Donald Trump...
Russia has released pilot Nadiya Savchenko, Ukraine’s “Joan of Arc,” from prison. Does Vladimir Putin want the EU to drop sanctions? Nadiya Savchenko sings Ukraine’s national anthem in parliament, 31 May 2016. (EPA/Sergey Dolzhenko) Russia released...
Vladimir Putin is a product of Russian society and power-hungry friends. But the West has helped make him what he is by its treatment of Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, with his predecessor and former mentor, Boris Yeltsin, at the Kremlin, Moscow, 7...
An information battle between Ukraine and Russia has brought out the worst in their media machines. It’s time for a Ukraine with an independent media. Ukraine’s Jamala with her country’s flag after winning the Eurovision Song Contest, Stockholm, Sweden, 14 May...
