| ID | 141415 |
| Title Proper | Surrealism of realism |
| Other Title Information | misreading the war in Ukraine |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Motyl, Alexander J |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Most general readers following events in Ukraine may not be aware that much of the debate and many of the policy prescriptions among “experts” have been dominated by a school of thought in international relations scholarship known as “realism.” In a nutshell, realists have argued that US policy toward the Russo-Ukrainian conflict should be driven by pragmatic American interests and by the realities of Russia’s regional great-power status—two propositions few would disagree with. Realist arguments become more controversial, however, when they go on to insist that Russia’s behavior toward Ukraine is actually a reasonable response to Western attempts to wrest Ukraine from Russia’s sphere of influence and that the culprit behind the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war is, thus, the West in general and the United States and NATO in particular. |
| `In' analytical Note | World Affairs US Vol. 177, No.5; Jan/Feb 2015: p.75-84 |
| Journal Source | World Affairs US 2015-01 177, 5 |
| Key Words | War ; Ukraine ; Misreading ; Surrealism of Realism ; Russo-Ukrainian Conflict |