The Gray Area with Sean Illing

The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 4: The future of Europe

Apr 21, 2022

Ivan Krastev, a political scientist and chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, discusses the profound impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Europe. He highlights Germany's dramatic shift from pacifism to military investment and the challenges to EU unity posed by differing responses from Poland and Hungary. The conversation also dives into Europe's struggle with its democratic ideals versus its colonial past. Krastev provides insights on how these dynamics will reshape Europe's identity and its geopolitical relationships with the U.S. and China.

01:04:52

Episode guests

Ivan Krastev

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Europe's Transformative Response to the Ukraine War

26min

Divergence in Unity: Poland and Hungary's Contrasting Responses to the Ukraine Conflict

3min

Divided Paths: Hungary and Poland's Response to Sovereignty Loss

14min

Conflicting Identities: Europe's Values and Historical Legacy

3min

Europe's Geopolitical Identity Amidst Conflict

13min

Reflections and Invitation to Explore Further on the War in Ukraine

2min

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is one of the biggest and most confusing political events of our lifetimes. We aim to bring some clarity in this special four-part series from Vox Conversations and host Zack Beauchamp, The War in Ukraine, Explained.

In part four, Zack speaks with author, political scientist, and scholar of European politics Ivan Krastev. They discuss the reverberations of Russia's invasion of Ukraine across Europe, from a sudden change of course in Germany and elections in France to the threatened intellectual foundations of the European Union nations' shared postwar identity, and how the war in Ukraine will shape the EU's future relations with the U.S. and China — and the future of Europe itself.

Host: Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Guest: Ivan Krastev, political scientist; chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies; permanent fellow, Institute for Human Sciences, IWM Vienna

References:

The Light That Failed: Why the West is Losing the Fight for Democracy by Stephen Holmes and Ivan Krastev (Pegasus; 2020)
"We Are All Living in Vladimir Putin's World Now" by Ivan Krastev (New York Times; Feb. 27)
"How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Conflict" by Ivan Arreguín-Toft (International Security, vol. 26 (1); 2001)
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt (Penguin; 2006)
The Idea of India by Sunil Khilnani (FSG; 1997)

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Editor: Amy Drozdowska
Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

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