Foreign Policy Blogs

Podcast: Dr. Rajan Menon on the Conflict in Ukraine

Protester_wearing_Ukraine_state_flag_colors_facing_the_massive_fire_set_by_protesters_to_prevent_internal_forces_from_crossing_the_barricade_line._Kyiv,_Ukraine._Jan_22,_2014

With Russia’s occupation of Ukraine coming up on its first anniversary, the situation in Ukraine has continued to deteriorate. In Western Europe and the Baltic states, some have begun to wonder if Putin’s incursion in Ukraine is one of the first in a slew of threats to European peace. While there’s little consensus on the origins of the conflict — some see it as a reaction to NATO’s attempted expansion to the East, others as a reaction to domestic concerns within Russia — most Western policymakers agree that the status quo in Ukraine cannot carry on for much longer.

This week, Sarwar Kashmeri of the Foreign Policy Association spoke to Dr. Rajan Menon, the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Professor of Political Science at the Powell School, City College of New York/City University of New York. Dr. Menon discussed the nature of the conflict in Ukraine, the role the European Union should play in easing tensions, and whether the U.S. has a responsibility to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression.


QW1NVRMODr. Rajan Menon is Anne and Bernard Spitzer Professor of Political Science at the Powell School, City College of New York/City University of New York, Senior Research Scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University, and the author, most recently, of Conflict in Ukraine The Unwinding of the Post–Cold War Order and The End of Alliances.

Sarwar Kashmeri is a Fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, and an Adjunct professor at Norwich University