Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! As promised, this is a Ukraine-special edition of the RWL. I’m thinking about the war most days, reading, watching, and listening for my own understanding. I probably won’t have enough material to do this repeatedly, but at least for this week, I hope you don’t mind hearing from me twice. This is a little therapeutic for me, and maybe I’ll have something useful for you to understand the war. And it will allow me to get back to thinking about other things for the regular RWL.
Here’s what I’m RWL’ing on Ukraine:
Read
What: WaPo, Robert M. Gates, We need a more realistic strategy for the post-Cold War era
Why: Gates was the Sec Def from 2006-2011 (under both W. Bush and Obama). From the article:
A new American strategy must recognize that we face a global struggle of indeterminate duration against two great powers that share authoritarianism at home and hostility to the United States. They are challenging us not only militarily but also in their use of other instruments of power — development assistance, strategic communications, covert and other influence operations, and advances in cyber- and other technologies.
We cannot pretend any longer that a national security focus primarily on China will protect our political, economic and security interests.
The whole thing is worth reading.
**
What: Bari Weiss Substack, Michael Shellenberger, The West’s Green Delusions Empowered Putin
Why: In RWL #262 I dared to speak against so-called “green” energy, and I said:
As an example, Green activists in Germany forced the country to shut down its nuclear power plants and shift to gas. Gas is better than coal or oil, but is still a fossil fuel, and the result of shifting to gas is 1) to increase the amount of emissions in Germany and 2) to make Germany strategically vulnerable to Russia.
That was the week before Russia invaded Ukraine and began wantonly murdering its civilian population. I guess since I spent the majority of my adult life in military uniform I still see things from a security lens first.
Shellenberger is a climate activist turned climate realist. This is worth a read.
**
What: The Atlantic, Kori Schake, Putin accidentally revitalized the West’s liberal order
https://www.aei.org/op-eds/putin-accidentally-revitalized-the-wests-liberal-order/
Why: Shake is a Defense establishment expert. I always listen when she speaks.
I think Putin has lost this war, even if he successfully crushes the Ukrainian population back under novo-Soviet control because he represents a weak country and no other country is going to willingly join with him, but many will join against him.
**
What: The Guardian, Yuval Noah Harari, Why Vladimir Putin has already lost this war
Why: Harari is the author of the best-selling book Sapiens, one of the great, sweeping historical narratives of recent time. This article is already dated in terms of the events it relates, but Harari’s insight is always excellent. Take this for example:
Nations are ultimately built on stories. Each passing day adds more stories that Ukrainians will tell not only in the dark days ahead, but in the decades and generations to come. The president who refused to flee the capital, telling the US that he needs ammunition, not a ride; the soldiers from Snake Island who told a Russian warship to “go fuck yourself”; the civilians who tried to stop Russian tanks by sitting in their path. This is the stuff nations are built from. In the long run, these stories count for more than tanks.
**
Watch
What: TED, Ian Bremmer, What the War in Ukraine Means for the World Order (45 min)
Why: Bremmer is the founder and president of the Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm. He argues that Putin’s war of conquest in Ukraine is the end of the “global peace dividend” that followed the fall of the Berlin wall and collapse of the Soviet Union.
**
Listen
What: Quillette Podcast, Russia's Surprising Military Blunders in Ukraine: A Strategic Analysis (30 min)
Why: Sean Maloney is a Royal Military College professor in Canada, so it is interesting to hear a Canadian perspective. The events described here are time sensitive, but it is a good discussion of Putin’s war during its second week. The thing that has been most shocking to me, having grown up in the 80’s and perceiving the then Soviet, now Russian, military as our peer, and perhaps our better, is to see how poorly they are performing when put up against a near-peer. This is probably the worst outcome for Putin - he may win the war because of his overwhelming mass of troops - but the world now sees that the Russian military is 3rd rate.
**
What: Goodfellows Podcast, Yes Or No Fly Zone: Congressman Mike Gallagher On Ukraine Policy And Politics
https://www.hoover.org/research/frederick-great-or-freddie-mercury
Why: The Goodfellows podcast includes Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson (historian), H. R. McMaster (military analyst), and John Cochrane (economist). They discuss the war in Ukraine with Rep. Mike Gallagher, a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence committees from each of their respective lenses.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next week!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Associate Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast:
http://healthleaderforge.org
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picaso