#401 – John Mearsheimer: Israel-Palestine, Russia-Ukraine, China, NATO, and WW3
Lex Fridman Podcast
Regarding Conventional Wisdom on Putin's Intentions in Ukraine and the Concerns over NATO Expansion
The conventional wisdom is that Putin is an imperialist and expansionist, determined to create a greater Russia and dominate Eastern Europe. However, there is no evidence to support this view. It is argued that with only 190,000 troops, Putin could not have conquered all of Ukraine, and negotiations to end the war with Zelensky indicate he was not interested in conquering Ukraine. The concerns over NATO expansion are rooted in Russia's historical mistrust of the alliance, as it sees NATO as a threat on its doorstep. The promise not to expand NATO after the Cold War was broken, leading to Russian opposition and eventual war between Georgia and Russia. The push for NATO expansion into Ukraine was seen by Putin as a declaration of war. The West continued to push despite warnings, resulting in the 2014 war. The West's strategy involved turning Ukraine into a western bulwark through NATO expansion, EU expansion, and color revolutions, but Russia made it clear that Ukraine in NATO was unacceptable.
