Europe

By Aglaya Snetkov, UCL and Marc Lanteigne University of Tromsø | – As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, China’s role has been thrown into sharp relief. Prior to the war, some commentators suggested that China would openly side with Russia or seek to act as a mediator – so far Beijing appears to have resisted […]

Climate Crisis

With Russia in Ukraine, Climate Emergency is at Heart of German Security Strategy

Julian Wettengel

( Clean Energy Wire ) – The climate crisis and its effects on people’s lives around the world will be at the heart of the National Security Strategy being developed by the German government, said foreign minister Annalena Baerbock. The minister called climate change “the security policy question of our time” and said the “foundations […]

Climate Crisis

Will Europe Rush even faster to Electric Vehicles to escape dependence on Putin’s Oil?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sean Goulding Carroll at Euractiv.com asks if Europe can defund the Russian war machine by turning to electric vehicles. It should be noted that in part because of the EU carbon tax, already 29% of new car purchases in Europe last December were EVs or plug-in hybrids, so consumers are […]

Climate Crisis

Plutocrats Fiddling as the World Burns with Global Heating and Nuclear Tensions

Tom Engelhardt

He’s our very own emperor from hell, an updated version of Nero who, in legend, burned down Rome on a whim, though ours prefers drowning Washington. Why, just the other day, Donald Trump — and you knew perfectly well who I meant — bent the ears of 250 top Republican donors for 84 minutes. Among […]

Islam

Crimea’s Peaceful Muslim Tatars Dared come out against Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

Brian Glyn Williams

( The Conversation ) – As Vladimir Putin’s forces wage a brutal war against Ukraine, the Crimean Tatars living in Russian-occupied Crimea and on the Ukrainian mainland feel particularly threatened by their historic enemy’s latest invasion. Some have vowed to defend Ukraine, a land many fled to in 2014 after Putin’s forces invaded the Crimean […]

Displaced and Refugees

US would be on firmer Ground declaring Putin a War Criminal if George W. Bush had been Tried

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – NPR reports that on Wednesday, President Biden called Russian dictator Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the first time. The report notes that this outburst is unusual for Biden, who prizes personal diplomacy and must know that such a charge would make it more difficult to negotiate with Putin down […]

Donald Trump

Will the Ukraine War be the Nail in the Coffin for the Putin-Loving Alt-Right?

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus) – Most of the leaders of the alt-right are scrambling to distance themselves from Vladimir Putin. It might be too late. By John Feffer | March 16, 2022 Many figures on the new right sold their already discounted souls to Vladimir Putin over the last decade. Now, after the invasion […]

History

Kyiv has faced adversity before – and a stronger Ukrainian identity grew in response

The Conversation

By Matthew Pauly, Michigan State University | – This is not the first time residents of Kyiv have fought to defend the city from an encroaching, larger army. On Jan. 30, 1918, a force made up primarily of military cadets and hastily armed students took up positions at Kruty, a railway stop northeast of Kyiv, […]

Russia

The New Cold War and the “Arsenal of Democracy”

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In certain quarters in this country, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has generated enthusiasm for a new cold war. At the New York Times, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have been described as “children of the [old] Cold War” now involved in a “face off,” an “eyeball to eyeball” confrontation harkening […]