Note: H-PAD is interested in hearing about any campus/local activities (including webinars or zoomed sessions) around the war in Ukraine. Please write to Rusti Eisenberg (Hiscze@hofstra.edu) or Andor Skotnes (skotna@sage.edu) with any information.
Links to Recent Articles of Interest on the Ukraine Crisis
By Yaroslav Hrytsak, New York Times, posted March 19
Argues that Russia and Ukraine have diverged historically. “Simply put, a victorious democratic revolution is almost impossible in Russia, whereas a viable authoritarian government is almost impossible in Ukraine.” The author is a Ukrainian historian who teaches at Ukrainian Catholic University.
By Anatol Lieven, Responsible Statecraft, posted March 18
“… Russia has lost Ukraine. The West should recognize this Russian defeat, and give its full support to a peace settlement that will safeguard Ukraine’s real interests, sovereignty, and ability to develop as an independent democracy. Neutrality, and territories that Ukraine has already in practice lost for the past eight years, are minor issues by comparison.” The author is a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and has written several books on Russia and its neighbors.
By Anand Giridharadas, The.Ink, posted March 17
“… I worry that President Zelensky might one day be willing to make a peace agreement but the West might prevent the agreement from being reached by being unwilling to lift some of the most severe sanctions it has imposed, like the sanctions on the Russian central bank. If that were to happen, the West would in effect be bleeding Ukrainians in order to bleed Russians.” Stephen Wertheim is a historian and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
By Peter Kuznick, Responsible Statecraft, posted March 15
Argues that China is uniquely positioned to facilitate an end to the war. “While the responsibility here clearly lies with Putin, who unleashed this criminal invasion, there’s plenty of blame to go around and, in the end, there are no winners in a war that could have and should have been averted before it began.”
The author teaches history at American University
The author teaches history at American University
By Shannon Bontrager, History News Network, posted March 13
On the “second front” opened by Ukrainians in resisting the Russian invasion. This second front is being conducted on digital platforms with scripted and unscripted images, videos, and speeches that are shaping the way we remember the conflict, even as it is being waged.” The author teaches history at Georgia Highlands College.
By Peter Maass, Reader Supported News, posted March 14
“Staying in power – doing whatever is necessary to stay there – is the new endgame.” Compares Putin's ruinous actions in Ukraine with those of Slobodan Milosovic in Bosnia in the early 1990s. The author is a veteran journalist who covered the Bosnian war.
Interview with Stephen Krotkin by David Remnick, New Yorker, posted March 11
Stephen Krotkin teaches history at Princeton University and has published two volumes of a projected three-volume biography of Joseph Stalin. This interview is a wide-ranging discussion with much emphasis on continuity in Russian history and speculation on present-day dynamics around Putin. He warns against a “maximalist spiral” that would lead to “cornering” Putin, who “has many tools that he hasn’t used that can hurt us.”
By Alfred McCoy, TomDispatch.com, posted March 10
On the relations of world powers in the Eurasian continent in the decades since World War II, as background for the Ukraine war. The author teaches history at the University of Wisconsin. The most recent of his many books is To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change (Haymarket Books, 2021).
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment blog, posted March 9
“… In other words, the prerequisite for a no-fly zone over Ukraine right now would be a massive American attack on the Russian military.” The author teaches Middle East history at the University of Michigan.
By Andrew J. Bacevich, Responsible Statecraft, posted March 7
“However distressing to admit, crimes committed by the United States in recent years, usually justified under the guise of liberating the oppressed and spreading democracy, have inflicted more damage on the international order than anything done by Russia.” The author is a retired Army colonel and a professor emeritus of history and international relations at Boston University.
Thanks to Mara Dodge, Rusti Eisenberg, and an anonymous reader for suggesting some of the articles included above and to Steve Gosch for valuable consulting. Suggestions for articles to be linked in these occasional listings can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.