Category: Geopolitics

The New Great Game

By Joel Kotkin and Hügo Krüger Quillette Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine will be remembered as one of the great crimes of the 21st century. The ensuing humanitarian crisis has already caused more than two million refugees to flee their homeland. With the imposition of sanctions, policymakers will […]

Deal With the Devil(s)

By Peter Zeihan on March 9, 2022 The Biden administration is shopping around with some less than savory potential partners in order to lessen the blow of energy sanctions against Russia. Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran – all well known and fairly maligned regimes from right, left, and center […]

Pay Russian Soldiers to Desert?

Bryan Caplan, March 02, 2022 Ukraine is offering amnesty plus five million rubles to anyone who deserts from the Russian army and agrees to go to a Ukrainian prison. That’s about $48,000, probably several years’ pay for a young Russian worker. On the surface, this sounds like a […]

Ukraine: Those who stayed behind

By Loveday Morris Washington Post In a Ukrainian apartment building damaged in a Russian airstrike, some still cling to their homes. BILA TSERKVA, Ukraine — Cats roam around outside the bombed-out apartment block, licking empty containers in search of food and encircling the legs of visitors hoping for […]

The US Chose This Conflict

By Caitlin Johnstone Just your regular reminder that the US empire (A) had solid intelligence that this war was coming, (B) knew they could prevent it by making very reasonable, low-cost concessions like promising not to add a nation to NATO that they didn’t want to add anyway, […]

China, Oil, and the Ukraine War

By Peter Zeihan on March 8, 2022 Russia is finding it increasingly difficult to sell its oil in Europe and other traditional markets, as a mixture of sanctions, market pressures and consumer choice are shifting against Moscow. It’s not that Russia is barred against selling oil. It’s that shippers, […]

Russia Sanctions, and Nickel

By Peter Zeihan on March 8, 2022 The London Metals Exchange halted nickel trades today after prices approximately tripled. Nickel is a metal that surrounds us in our daily lives, primarily as an alloy component in stainless steel: bridges, cutlery, appliances. But nickel’s importance in our future lives may […]