We sometimes forget that “casus belli” in Latin is both a singular and a plural noun, and it should always be treated as such. A close look at history reveals that there are no simple causes for the Russia-Ukraine war...
The international community cannot allow Russia to turn Mariupol into the next Aleppo. Russia’s history of using brutal tactics against civilians shows that a strong response is needed and this can be achieved through international cooperation, isolation and the rule of law.
Vladimir Putin has run a kleptocratic regime, imposing tsarism without the tsar. Russia is still crucial to the global economy for food, fertilizers, oil, gas and commodities but it does not make things anymore and Putin’s time might be limited even if he wins.
Evaluating the effects of the first Lend-Lease law passed 82 years ago can help to make sense of the 2022 version.
The Russia-Ukraine War has given a monumental supply-side shock to a post-COVID economy, unleashing inflation, food shortages, oil and commodity price surges. It also threatens to upend the rules underpinning the post-1991 global economy.
Smedley Butler called war a racket. It has become an addiction and the dealers are profiting handsomely.
Ukraine may be about the US seeking to save Ukrainian democracy, but US democracy itself is in peril.
