A 21st-century war in Europe is no longer unthinkable. After weeks of speculation about whether Russia will invade Ukraine, a clear majority of respondents in a recent pan-European poll by the European Council on Foreign …
Why has Russia’s President Vladimir Putin become so aggressive in his attitude to the US, NATO and Ukraine? In this article, I begin by examining the disintegration of the former Soviet Union and how it …
The best test of the effectiveness of US sanctions policy over Ukraine will be if it deters Russia from invading and encourages a negotiated solution. Once the military has moved, sanctions are unlikely to prompt …
For international observers, Russian President Vladimir Putin either will start a new war in Ukraine or he will not. But for Ukrainians, the war started when Putin annexed Crimea in 2014, and it has continued …
Empires never fall quietly, and defeated great powers always develop revanchist aspirations. That was the case for Germany after World War I: a humiliating peace agreement and the offer of former German territories to the …
Australia is a consistent supporter of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. This support has always been bipartisan. Two like-minded nations, Ukraine and Australia champion world order based on international law. Australia’s respect for international law …
Russian President Vladimir Putin regularly showcases his skills in judo and other martial arts. Success in these sports often depends on what the Japanese call kuzushi—unbalancing one’s opponent by employing techniques designed to disrupt their …
In the 10 months since Russia began building up troop numbers on its Ukraine border, it still isn’t crystal clear what President Vladimir Putin will accept as a resolution to the crisis he has generated, …
Comments implying that President Vladimir Putin’s ultimatums and threats against the US, other NATO states and Ukraine are counterproductive have appeared in Russia’s hitherto unimpeachably loyal media. Even muffled dissent in an increasingly authoritarian state …
Every great power needs an organising principle of foreign policy; great powers rise and fall on the tide of history and no power remains great forever; no great power retreats forever; there’s no way to …
Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly decided that now is the opportune time to secure his long-held objective to bring Ukraine back within Moscow’s orbit—by whatever means it takes. In part this is because the …
It didn’t have to be this way. Since Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and the bloody proxy war waged since then in the Donbas region, there has been no doubt that Vladimir Putin has …