The Pretext for War: Redefining the Meaning of Sovereignty

In this episode, Alex focuses the entire episode on the recent updates on the Ukraine-Russia crisis where Putin has clearly set his sights on taking Ukraine and has officially invaded. Alex tries to get through all of the partisan media coverage to clarify the threat of what Putin is trying to accomplish. Putin has created a situation where Russia can define the meaning of a sovereign nation. Whoever disagrees, is conspiring against Russia.  Under Putin’s definition of statehood, it leaves room for redefining nationality for nefarious reasons.

 

 In this episode: 

• Alex starts by discussing Putin’s speech to Russian television in which he goes unhinged and crosses the rubicon. In his speech, Putin recognizes the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. Alex discusses how this is an effective means for creating a pretext for protecting Russians outside of Russian territory. 

 

• Alex tries to respond to the extremes on both sides of America’s media that claim that this is an issue the U.S. should not be involved in. He discusses polling out of Ukraine that shows that the nation is more unified around a national identity than ever before. Putin is trying to foil this. 

 

• Alex goes over why diplomacy has failed and why that works in Russia’s favor. Sanctions also may work in the short term, but the true dependent variable in this situation is China.