Ukraine

Tiffin, Oh. (Special to Informed Comment) – Europe has been a flash point for war among both great and small powers for centuries. Conflicts beginning there have been known to spill over outside Europe, sometimes encompassing nearly the entire planet. These wars have unleashed untold human suffering and death, destroyed entire societies and produced campaigns […]

Natural Gas

How Russia hooked Europe on its oil and gas – and overcame US efforts to prevent energy dependence on Moscow

The Conversation

By Ryan Haddad | – The Biden administration hopes its threat of “severe economic consequences” deters Russia from invading Ukraine – an event Americans officials say could be imminent. In response, the U.S. said it may ban the export of microchips and other technologies to critical sectors like artificial intelligence and aerospace and freeze the […]

Russia

How Did We Get Here? The Strategic Blunder of the 1990s That Set the Stage for Today’s Ukrainian Crisis

Rajan Menon

( Tomdispatch.com) – Understandably enough, commentaries on the crisis between Russia and the West tend to dwell on Ukraine. After all, more than 100,000 Russian soldiers and a fearsome array of weaponry have now been emplaced around the Ukrainian border. Still, such a narrow perspective deflects attention from an American strategic blunder that dates to […]

European Union

Despite the U.S. Hype about an “imminent” Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is not Ready to Risk War

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – Russia seems to be giving up on the “ultimatum” it issued to the United States in December. After Washington and its allies said no to Moscow’s security demands, the Kremlin started to soften its rhetoric regarding a potential NATO expansion eastward. Western media, however, keep spreading rumors of an […]

Featured

How the Ukraine Crisis is Changing Biden’s Mideast Policy: The Rise and Rise of Qatar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Russia’s massing of over 100,000 troops around Ukraine has provoked a diplomatic and military crisis, but also a potential energy crisis. That is because Europe gets about one third of its natural gas from the Russian Federation, and Germany gets about half of its from that source. Natural gas prices […]

Russia

Turkey’s High Wire Act between Russia and Ukraine

Elif Selin Calik

By Elif Selin Calik | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Turkey’s military-industrial partners are on the verge of war. The war scenario between Russia and Ukraine is testing Turkey’s balancing policy, especially in the defence industry. Both countries are important partners for Turkey in terms of sales and purchasing of defence equipment. This […]

Donald Trump

How Trump appeased Putin and Endangered Peace in Ukraine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I don’t approve of all the loud saber-rattling in Washington on Russia. For reasons I’ll explain below, I nevertheless don’t think Russia has a right to nibble at Ukrainian territory. Although I think Washington over-uses sanctions and in a broad-stroke way that inflicts a lot of harm on innocents, carefully […]

Climate Crisis

Europe is dependent on Russian Gas during Ukraine Crisis because it didn’t Ramp up Renewables Faster

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The growing conflict between the United States and the Russian Federation over the Ukraine has taken an increasingly dark turn, with press reports that US embassy personnel and dependents are being pulled out of Kiev and that President Biden is considering sending US troops to Ukraine’s neighbors. The conflict has […]

Central Asia

Eurasia’s Ring of Fire: The Epic Struggle over the Epicenter of U.S. Global Power

Alfred W. McCoy

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Throughout 2021, Americans were absorbed in arguments over mask mandates, school closings, and the meaning of the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Meanwhile, geopolitical hot spots were erupting across Eurasia, forming a veritable ring of fire around that vast land mass. Let’s circle that continent to visit just a few […]