9 May, 2022
Imperial nostalgia and its perils
Although great empires rank among the most powerful engines of world history, they are also among the most dangerous, especially as they brood over their decline.
1 May, 2022
The coming Old New Order
A principal lesson of the war in Ukraine is that the Cold War never ended. German reunification, the Soviet Union’s collapse, new entries in NATO, democratic springs in Poland and Hungary, Ukraine’s independence, the removal of nuclear weapons from eastern Europe, including Ukraine—all these events once augured a new era in Europe.
20 Apr, 2022
With humanity on the brink, should we trust deterrence theory, or disarmament?
On Monday, the Pentagon announced the US will soon begin training the Ukrainian military in using howitzer artillery in an unnamed country. Presumably this will be in a NATO member state. If Russian intelligence found out where, might it attack to stop the howitzers from being deployed against Russian forces in Ukraine?
13 Apr, 2022
Is this the best we can do?
There’s been a lot of “whataboutism” muddying the dialogue around the deeper causes of the cruel and pointless Ukraine invasion.
21 Mar, 2022
The people of Yemen suffer atrocities, too
The ghastly blockade and bombardment of Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is now entering its eighth year.
20 Mar, 2022
An engagement moment for the US and China
One of the more interesting developments in Putin’s war on Ukraine is the retreat of China from full-fledged support of Russia.
9 Mar, 2022
The imperialist roots of Putin’s policy
A key factor that explains Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine is traditional Russian imperialism.
8 Mar, 2022
Stumbling into the ‘sacrifice trap’
Our headlines: “Defiant Zelensky reveals his location in Kyiv… asks for no-fly zone”, “Russia threatens Europe’s gas supplies,” "Biden threatens to cut off Russian oil.”
7 Mar, 2022
Saving Ukraine, saving lives, saving ourselves
I teach nonviolence. Students ask, so, okay, and just how could Ukraine possibly resist Putin and a brutal invasion using nothing but nonviolence?
4 Mar, 2022
The frailty of peace in the midst of war
The frailty of peace in the midst of war by Robert C. Koehler 857 words Prior to any analysis of...
18 Feb, 2022
Employing Confidence Building Measures in the Ukraine Crisis
Last week a tiny back-page item in the New York Times reported that the president of Ukraine had come to believe that as much as he wants Ukraine to join NATO, it may be just a dream, suggesting a willingness to forego membership.
14 Feb, 2022
Time for a Neutral and Demilitarized Eastern Europe
Europe has been a flash point for war among both great and small powers for centuries. Conflicts beginning there have been known to spill over outside Europe, sometimes encompassing nearly the entire planet. These wars have unleashed untold human suffering and death, destroyed entire societies and produced campaigns of mass killings and genocide...
7 Feb, 2022
What the Cuban Missile Crisis Can Teach Us About Today’s Ukraine Crisis
Commentators on the current Ukraine crisis have sometimes compared it to the Cuban missile crisis. This is a good comparison?and not only because they both involve a dangerous U.S.-Russian confrontation capable of leading to a nuclear war.
7 Feb, 2022
China’s Careful Dance Around the Ukraine Crisis
Reports out of Washington suggest worry over a Russia-China partnership that would facilitate Vladimir Putin’s presumed ambition to absorb Ukraine and undermine the NATO-based European security system. So let’s examine that relationship to assess the US concern.
3 Feb, 2022
Ukraine and the nuclear paradox??
Somewhere out there in the geopolitical wilderness of Eastern Europe, two powerful beasts stalk each other. One of them is good. One of them is evil. The future of all life on this planet is at stake...