Rational Security 2.0: The ‘War in Ukraine’ Special Edition

This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott sat down for a special episode committed to discussing a very serious topic: the war in Ukraine. They talked through three aspects of the conflict, namely:

• “In the Streets of Kyiv.” Over the past week, Ukraine’s fierce resistance has successfully stymied Russian efforts to remove its government. How have the Ukrainians pulled this off? And what does it tell us about the next stage of the conflict?
• “On the Global Stage.” While Ukrainians fight the Russian military in the streets, Western nations and their allies have responded by providing the Ukrainians with arms and support while imposing an unprecedented array of sanctions against Russia’s economy. Can these efforts turn the tide in the war? And what other consequences might they have?
• “On the Homefront.” While Americans have overwhelmingly rallied in support of Ukraine, even mainstream Republicans have continued to use the crisis to score points against the Biden administration. Meanwhile, the party’s Trump wing has gone even further in complimenting Putin and defending, if not openly supporting, his actions. What impact will the Ukraine conflict have on our domestic political scene–and vice versa?

For object lessons, Alan passed along a recipe for one of his family's favorite classic Ukrainian dishes, cold borscht. Quinta recommended the 2018 book “Russia Without Putin” by Tony Wood as a good read on Russia in this particular moment. And Scott passed along H.A. Hellyer's recent op-ed on the unfortunate racism that is evident in the different ways the media has covered the Ukraine conflict versus other recent conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere.