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

Jen Patja, Alan Z. Rozenshtein, Quinta Jurecic, Scott R. Anderson
Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 12:00 PM

Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
Brookings

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.


Jen Patja is the editor and producer of The Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.
Alan Z. Rozenshtein is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, a senior editor at Lawfare, and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he served as an Attorney Advisor with the Office of Law and Policy in the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.
Quinta Jurecic is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a senior editor at Lawfare. She previously served as Lawfare's managing editor and as an editorial writer for the Washington Post.
Scott R. Anderson is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

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