the question is moot as Russia would never have entertained the concept of giving back Ukraine. Russian doctrine has consistently been that Ukraine is not a real country and is part of the motherland and Crimea even more so. They honestly thought the locals thought the same thing which is why the invasion was so badly prepared.
If anything, what we are witnessing in Russia is a case study in how a one-party state inevitably disintegrates from its own internal contradictions, spinning a political stance that is increasingly divorced from reality. Sooner or later, reality is going to come knocking and you are going to get your nose rubbed in it.
FWIW I see similar tendencies amongst the MAGA crowd - basically, an inability to tolerate any opposition, either within the party or outside it. That kind of quenching of counterargument will quickly result in the same kind of fawning cesspit where a grip on reality becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. Just another 2c..
Sure, but the Nato excuse would still have been eliminated.
And you can see the same type of tendencies from the extreme progressives on the left... an unwillingness to hear opposing ideas.
I think recent developments have killed that NATO expansion hypothesis. This was only ever about restoring the former borders of the USSR.
Sure, but then the Nato excuse would have been eliminated
the question is moot as Russia would never have entertained the concept of giving back UkraineCrimea. Russian doctrine has consistently been that Ukraine is not a real country and is part of the motherland and Crimea even more so. They honestly thought the locals thought the same thing which is why the invasion was so badly prepared.
If anything, what we are witnessing in Russia is a case study in how a one-party state inevitably disintegrates from its own internal contradictions, spinning a political stance that is increasingly divorced from reality. Sooner or later, reality is going to come knocking and you are going to get your nose rubbed in it.
FWIW I see similar tendencies amongst the MAGA crowd - basically, an inability to tolerate any opposition, either within the party or outside it. That kind of quenching of counterargument will quickly result in the same kind of fawning cesspit where a grip on reality becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. Just another 2c..
not that mearsheimer hasn't been red penned before... In the 18th episode of the 'Understanding the War', Prof Alexander Stubb responds to the claims of Prof John Mearsheimer about what led to the war in Ukraine.
Interesting, and I mostly agree...except perhaps he downplays the Nato expansion too much. We knew Putin would use Nato expansion as an excuse to invade. We could played our hand better and agree to no expansion, as long as Russia doesn't invade AND returns Crimea.
I think recent developments have killed that NATO expansion hypothesis. This was only ever about restoring the former borders of the USSR.
not that mearsheimer hasn't been red penned before...
In the 18th episode of the 'Understanding the War', Prof Alexander Stubb responds to the claims of Prof John Mearsheimer about what led to the war in Ukraine.
Interesting, and I mostly agree...except perhaps he downplays the Nato expansion too much.
We knew Putin would use Nato expansion as an excuse to invade. We could played our hand better and agree to no expansion, as long as Russia doesn't invade AND returns Crimea.
not that mearsheimer hasn't been red penned before...
In the 18th episode of the 'Understanding the War', Prof Alexander Stubb responds to the claims of Prof John Mearsheimer about what led to the war in Ukraine.
Only time will tell. People tend to change their opinions depending on who sponsors them or whether they have gotten more information on the subject. Just recall what you thought about the Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan wars at the beginning under the influence of all that initial propaganda and today.
