Skip to main content

Home/ Groups/ Graded IR Class
Blair Peterson

Ukraine Must Prepare to Rebuild Itself | Opinion | The Moscow Times - 7 views

  • The three months of increasingly intense fighting between pro-Kiev forces and eastern separatists have unleashed both sides' worst instincts and demonstrated their high tolerance for loss of civilian life.
    • Blair Peterson
       
      Notice the language here. "pro-Kiev forces" not Ukrainian forces. Also, "eastern separatists"
  • These developments exclude any recovery of Ukrainian statehood, even in its dysfunctional post-Soviet form. The Ukrainian state, as it emerged after the Soviet dissolution, is finished.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • And as Ukraine's conflict grows deeper, the reputation of the U.S. as the ultimate arbiter of the international system has yet again suffered. As with Iraq, Ukraine is a case of a violent disintegration, and there is not much Washington can do about that.
    • Blair Peterson
       
      Interesting view of the U.S's involvement.
  • But the potential economic effects of the likely Ukrainian collapse will be devastating on Russia, even if Moscow manages to not get involved in a direct military confrontation with Kiev. The deeper Ukraine moves into a civil war, the more costly it will ultimately be for Russia to rebuild what is left of Ukraine's eastern regions. As Ukraine's largest neighbor and the international supporter of the eastern fighters, Russia won't be able to step aside.
  • f the international community summons the will to pressure Kiev, Moscow can be helpful in pressuring Donetsk and Luhansk to negotiate a cease-fire.
  • Andrei Tsygankov is professor of international relations and political science at San Francisco State University. His forthcoming book is "The Strong State in Russia: Development and Crisis" (Oxford, 2014).
Blair Peterson

A Test for Ukraine in a City Retaken From Rebels - NYTimes.com - 12 views

  • As it struggles to secure the consent, if not yet the trust, of Slovyansk’s largely ethnic Russian population, Ukraine has found that its best weapon has been provided by the rebels themselves — a legacy of violent thuggery and chaos that alienated just about everyone.
  • housands of residents thronged a large square in front of City Hall to welcome the pro-Russian putsch, chanting “Russia, Russia” and posing for photographs with gunmen they hailed as their saviors from the fascists who had seized power in Kiev with the February ouster of President Victor F. Yanukovych, a Russian-speaker from Donetsk.
    • Blair Peterson
       
      Where do the people of Ukraine feel about a Russian takeover? Are there some who are supportive of it?
  •  
    Where do Ukranians stand on this war that is going on? Are they all anti-Russian?
  •  
    Where do Ukranians stand on this war that is going on? Are they all anti-Russian?
Blair Peterson

With Huge Sums in Play, FIFA Sponsors Are Reluctant to Push Reforms - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  •  
    How do FIFA and the multi-national sponsors fit into international relations?
Blair Peterson

Tufts Summer Study International Relations - 0 views

  • “Even though many issues are global, the number of major players [in international relations] is relatively small,” he says. “If students so choose, they can insert themselves into or around these decisionmaking circles.”
Blair Peterson

Russia's Message on Jet: Conciliation and Bluster - NYTimes.com - 1 views

  • “In Russia, no one thinks that Russia is guilty,” said Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist who specializes in studying Russia’s political elite.
  • That is the theme of much of coverage on state-run television, which has also aired all manner of theories lifted from the dark corners of the web.
  • Anastasia Lukina, 30, a sales manager in Moscow, said either side might have shot down the plane. “So the West says it wants a full investigation, but they’ve already accused us of killing those people?” she said. “We all know what the conclusion to that investigation will be. So why even bother pretending? Russia is the world’s scapegoat.”
« First ‹ Previous 341 - 350 of 350
Showing 20 items per page