Russia Ukraine War - Stephen Walt, John J. Mearsheimer v Michael McFaul, Radosław Sikorski

The Munk Debate - The Russia Ukraine War,
Stephen Walt- Stephen Walt
"The great tragedy is this entire affair was avoidable...had the United States and its European allies not succumbed to hubris, wishful thinking, and liberal idealism..."
John Mearsheimer- "If there had been no decision to move NATO eastward to include Ukraine, Crimea and the Donbass would be part of Ukraine today, and there would be no war."
v Michael McFaul - "The primary threat to Putin and his autocratic regime is democracy, not NATO.", Radosław Sikorski - "Losing an empire is not a nice thing...but just because you feel diminished, it doesn't give you the right to reinvade those territories."Show more

By any measure, the Russian invasion of Ukraine represents a profound security risk for the world. It raises fundamental issues about the basic principles that underwrite the current international order and it threatens the specter of an entrenched, high-risk Great Power conflict. How is this fast-evolving crisis best addressed? Does it demand a resolute and relentless push by the West to punish, isolate and degrade Putin’s Russia economically, politically and militarily? Or is a solution to be found in acknowledging Russia’s security needs and finding ways to mutually de-escalate the war, sooner not later? Which of these different strategies stand the best chance of success? And how ultimately is this conflict best resolved?