Munk Dialogue with John Mearsheimer: why Ukraine needs to break ties with the West

In May 2022, just a few months into the war between Russia and Ukraine, we convened a public debate in Toronto about whether the West needed to acknowledge Russia’s legitimate legitimate security interests in order to bring the conflict to a resolution.

John Mearsheimer, one of the world’s leading realist scholars in international relations, argued on stage that the West deserves some blame for Russian aggression. 

After almost two years of fighting, the war, as John predicted at that debate, is nowhere near its conclusion. Mass casualties, a country in ruin, and billions of dollars in western aid has done little to advance the goals of either side.

On this Munk Dialogue, John offers his thoughts on how to resolve this conflict as soon as possible, the threat of a growing alliance between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, and why military power has its limits in a multipolar world.

The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths

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Editor: Kieran Lynch