Over the past two weeks a few different people have guided me towards this almost-seven-year-old video of a lecture by John J. Mearsheimer, Professor in Political Science at the University of Chicago: Why is the Ukraine the West’s fault? I watched it once, and watched it again this morning. I recommend it. The video is 75 minutes long, but the lecture itself is less than 45 minutes.
I am struck again by how the discourse in both mainstream and social media continues to focus exclusively on the events of only the past few days, with essentially no mention of history, not even very recent political history. We are quick to condemn, slower (or even utterly disinterested) in seeking to understand. The context of this war is of course inconvenient for the narrative the west seems eager to feed us:
That’s it. That’s the whole story. Anything else, counter-story, alternative perspective, rumour or actual historical fact that undermines or muddies this narrative must quickly be branded as Fake News. There is no room here for doubt, no room for curiosity, no nuance. But I’ve spoken to that already.1
Many have the sense that the USA and its allies actually want this war, and there are various theses on why that is the case. But assuming the world as a whole would like this war to end, what would that “end” look like?
At 37’ 27” in the lecture Mearsheimer asks the question, “And now, what should be done?” I’d be interested to know what you think of his own response, and what yours would be.
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History matters
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Over the past two weeks a few different people have guided me towards this almost-seven-year-old video of a lecture by John J. Mearsheimer, Professor in Political Science at the University of Chicago: Why is the Ukraine the West’s fault? I watched it once, and watched it again this morning. I recommend it. The video is 75 minutes long, but the lecture itself is less than 45 minutes.
I am struck again by how the discourse in both mainstream and social media continues to focus exclusively on the events of only the past few days, with essentially no mention of history, not even very recent political history. We are quick to condemn, slower (or even utterly disinterested) in seeking to understand. The context of this war is of course inconvenient for the narrative the west seems eager to feed us:
Russia = evil perpetrator; Putin = villain; Ukraine = innocent victim; Zelenskiy = hero.
That’s it. That’s the whole story. Anything else, counter-story, alternative perspective, rumour or actual historical fact that undermines or muddies this narrative must quickly be branded as Fake News. There is no room here for doubt, no room for curiosity, no nuance. But I’ve spoken to that already.1
Many have the sense that the USA and its allies actually want this war, and there are various theses on why that is the case. But assuming the world as a whole would like this war to end, what would that “end” look like?
At 37’ 27” in the lecture Mearsheimer asks the question, “And now, what should be done?” I’d be interested to know what you think of his own response, and what yours would be.
Absolutely Nothing