Russia & Ukraine
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I’ve had a few students ask if I would be providing any perspective on what is going on between Russia and Ukraine. We would typically discuss this when we talk about World War II, the Cold War, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and globalization. That said, it seems events are moving very quickly in the region, and I believe this presents an opportunity for us to look at history in the context of current events.
I’ve found some perspectives (some I agree with, some I don’t) on what is going on in the region. My goal was to find perspectives that would show the history and current events from a perspective we might not always get from U.S. media outlets.
First, we have an academic perspective from the Univesity of South Florida’s Tatsiana Kulakevich Ph.D. Beyond being a research fellow and faculty at the Institute on Russia at the University of South Florida, her research focuses on international political economies, international relations, quantitative methods, and Eastern European politics. She has written extensively on Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, looking at her research. (Links to an external site.)
Next, I would like to look at this article from Aljazeera, “Ukraine and Russia explained in maps and charts.” (Links to an external site.) As you probably know, Aljazeera is a Qatari government-funded news organization. I’ve selected this article because I believe the maps and charts are a great way to deal with the complex history and the fact that Qatar is not a member of NATO and not an ally of Russia, so their perspective is from the outside of the conflict.
Finally, I’ve added a short news clip from the BBC “What is the role of NATO in the Russia-Ukraine crisis?” (Links to an external site.) Here, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) perspective a U.S. ally and NATO member. So there will be some bias here, of course.
Obviously, I could add about 20 or 30 more resources and articles here, but I don’t want to overwhelm you all. So consider this a brief introduction. I highly recommend you keep an eye on the events in Russia and Ukraine if things intensify. What happens if/after Russia invades Ukraine will matter a lot to us in the United States since it will destabilize Europe and draw the rest of the continent into a conflict.
From my perspective, these events are an opportunity to consider national identities, sovereignty, Eastern Europe in a post-USSR era, the role of NATO in a post-Cold War world, and the role of the US internationally in the 21st century.
For this discussion post: using sources above only, explain why this crisis is occurring and why you believe it is happening right now. Your answer should be 500 words. Then respond to one other student’s response by adding any context or important element you believe would add to their post.
