Stephen M. Walt understands the deep anger felt over the Russian invasion but believes the Ukraine debate needs to be shifted away from its distorting over-reliance on moral outrage. Walt perceives a profound need for more dispassionate thinking.
In an interview in 2014, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser presciently argued that: Moving NATO east to the very borders of Russia was bound to be regarded as a totally hostile act. Very recently, Stephen M. Walt, a distinguished international relations professor at Harvard University, confirmed the essential validity of this view when he argued that, there is a mountain of evidence showing that Russian elites (and not just Putin) were deeply troubled over many years by what NATO and the European Union were doing.
Walt’s comments are contained in an article in Foreign Policy entitled: “The Perpetually Irrational Ukraine Debate”. This potent, measured commentary needs to be widely read. It articulates, inter alia, how the US gets drawn into one war after another and then regularly perpetuates them. Walt acknowledges the controversial nature of his views which he plainly expects will draw much fire. He also notes that, what Russia is doing in Ukraine is horrific and it is easy to understand why people are angry. Nevertheless, he is committed to doing what he can to shift the Ukraine debate away from its distorting over-reliance on moral outrage. He perceives a profound need for more dispassionate thinking.
Read Stephen M Walt’s article.
Shared from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
Richard Cullen is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. He was previously a Professor in the Department of Business Law and Taxation at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
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