ukraine

3Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Ukraine Diaries: A Ethnographic Correspondent Documents The War

On 15 April 2022, I travelled to Ukraine, intending to stay there for a month. A simple question underpins my research trip: how do we behave when the world collapses around us? We oppose it with weapons, mutual help, aid, and humanitarian work. We watch it in disbelief. We flee it. We take action. Throughout my month-long trip, I endeavoured to document the day-to-day experience of the war, based on accounts from civilians who are reacting to this overwhelming chain of events. War as an experience of the world collapsing War is, above all else, an experience of the world collapsing. It is the loss of loved ones; it is exile and destruction. The disappearance of reference points that usually structure daily life puts people’s psyche to the test. The world’s collapse is not just a tragedy ...

Without Stopping Putin’s Assault On Ukraine – Economic Sanctions May Make Russians’ Lives Worse

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Without Stopping Putin’s Assault On Ukraine – Economic Sanctions May Make Russians’ Lives Worse

The economic sanctions levied upon Russia as a consequence of its invasion of Ukraine target the Russian economy and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest personal and business associates. The goal is to alter domestic politics within Russia, ultimately stopping Putin’s aggression. Yet our research into how economic sanctions affect the behavior of dictators indicates the sanctions are likely to increase political repression in Russia and hurt average Russians’ economic security – without stopping Putin from pulverizing Ukraine. Personal rule Putin rules Russia with what political scientists like us call a personalist dictatorship. This term means that the leader has more power than the political party that backs him, and more than the military and security forces. In Russia, Putin ...

‘Defending Freedom’ In Ukraine: But At What Cost? Higher Food And Gas Prices And An Increased Risk Of Recession

28Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

‘Defending Freedom’ In Ukraine: But At What Cost? Higher Food And Gas Prices And An Increased Risk Of Recession

Americans may be tempted to view the war in Ukraine as an unfortunate, but far away, crisis. As an economist, I know the world is too connected for the U.S. to go unaffected. On Feb. 22, 2022, President Joe Biden warned Americans that a Russian invasion of Ukraine – and U.S. efforts to thwart or punish it – would come with a price tag. “Defending freedom will have costs, for us as well and here at home,” Biden said. “We need to be honest about that.” His statement came one day before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on targets throughout Ukraine, including western parts of the country. Now that war has broken out, the biggest costs for the U.S. will likely be in higher prices – on top of what is already the fastest pace of inflation in 40 years. How much worse inflati...

Russian Media Blames US For Escalating Ukraine Crisis – It’s Just A ‘Panic Attack’ Or Is It?

26Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, POLITICS

Russian Media Blames US For Escalating Ukraine Crisis – It’s Just A ‘Panic Attack’ Or Is It?

As Western news outlets warn of a “countdown to war,” Kremlin-controlled Russian television has a different take, accusing the U.S. of “hysteria” in its insistence that President Vladimir Putin is about to invade Ukraine. The only attack the West needs to worry about is its own “panic attack,” proclaimed a banner on Channel One’s evening news program “Vremia” on Jan. 24, 2021. “Even the Ukrainians cannot believe how far the U.S. has gone,” said rival news show “Vesti” on station Russia-1, referring to the evacuation of U.S. Embassy personnel from Kyiv. A historian of Russia interested in propaganda and media strategy, I was in Moscow both when NATO bombed Russian ally Yugoslavia in 1999 and again when Russia deployed troops to the Crimea in 2014, purportedly to protect Russian citizens u...