Puton's Ego Russian Nationalism, the Greatness of Mother Russia, and So On

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In your flad factors, i go into why we fight. How do you factor that in? You know, with numbers, or in your kind of calculation, yes. And the story you just told, which is the dominant story out there, which might also be true. I think it doesn't hurt to have a nationalistic or glory seeking leader. A democratic and western facing ukraine is a threat to him. It's a threat to his apparatus of control. curtailing that and creating a neutral, less militarized and a non-democratic ukraine would probably strengthen and preserve his rule at some degree.

Shermer and Blattman discuss: Putin, Russia, and Ukraine • game theory and violent conflict • 5 Reasons for conflict and war • common elements of conflict in Medellin, Chicago, Sudan, Somalia, etc. • U.S. foreign policy in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, and its consequences • human nature and conflict: are we wired to fight or do environments push us into conflicts? • cooperation vs. competition / selfish genes vs. collection action problems • inner demons and better angels • violence and wars in our paleolithic ancestors • why violence has declined over the centuries • Chicago as a test case for theories of conflict and peace • why gangs, groups, and even nations mostly avoid conflict and war because of its consequences • and whether international aid and economic development attenuate violence.

Dr. Christopher Blattman is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies (University of Chicago), where he coleads the Development Economics Center and directs the Obama Foundation Scholars program. His work on violence, crime, and poverty has been widely covered by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Forbes, Slate, Vox, and NPR.