Mearsheimer is Horribly Wrong — Ukraine is NOT the West’s Fault

In 2008, the neoliberal era that lasted for some 30 years came to an abrupt end with the financial crash on Wall Street that permeated the world.

The leaders of the G20 — from Japan to Russia and the United States — swiftly met to discuss what they should do next.

That type of unity was hard to come by in the 20th century and would be even more difficult to see in the 2010s, especially because of something else that happened in 2008: Putin’s “Five Day War” in Georgia.

In a lecture titled “Why is Ukraine the West’s Fault?” with 27 million views (as of July 24 2022), the political scientist and realist, John Mearsheimer, argued that Putin’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 came because of a 2008 NATO announcement for Georgia and Ukraine to join the defensive alliance.

But is Russia really threatened? Is Mearsheimer correct about Putin’s fears? Or is he simply giving in to Putin’s justifications for imperialism that threaten our much-desired unity?

“If half the country is dreaming of Stalin, he will return, believe me.” — Svetlana Alexievich, Second Hand Time

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

Mearsheimer’s claims that NATO expansionism is primarily to blame for Putin’s…