Dear CCI Friends and Colleagues:
At this critical stage in the quest for peace in Ukraine, and the unfolding saga in Europe where many of its leaders want to keep the war going till the last Ukrainian, we felt that the interview between Richard Sakwa and James Carden would be important to share with you.
https://usrussiaaccord.org/acura-qa-richard-sakwa-trumps-perestroika/
Richard Sakwa is Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent in the UK. He has published widely on Soviet, Russian, European and post-communist affairs. Books include The Crisis of Russian Democracy: The Dual State, Factionalism and the Medvedev Succession (Cambridge University Press, 2011), Putin and the Oligarch: The Khodorkovsky – Yukos Affair (London and New York, I. B. Tauris, 2014) and Putin Redux: Power and Contradiction in Contemporary Russia (London and New York, Routledge, 2014). His latest book is Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands, which was published in 2016. He is currently working on Russia against the Rest: The Crisis of the Post-Cold War International System.
James Carden is senior adviser to ACURA (American Committee for US Russia Accord). He previously served as an advisor to the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission and to the Special Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs at the US State Department. A contributing editor and columnist at The American Conservative and a contributing writer for foreign affairs at The Nation, his articles have appeared in publications on the left, right, and center including The Quincy Institute’s Responsible Statecraft, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The Spectator, Quartz, among many others.
In this interview, Sakwa and Carden reflect on the quest for peace by the US which is being opposed by many European countries, even against the wishes of their own people. It is ironic that in spite of so much death and destruction, many of the so-called leaders in the Collective West wish to keep the war going. The implications of this, and some pathways forward for all parties concerned, are discussed in this thoughtful, engaging, and timely interview.
We welcome your thoughts on this critical subject.
Regards,
Paula Day and Krishen Mehta, Directors CCI