Ukraine

Just war thinking is moral analysis of military action, not a framework for foreign policy. Acknowledging these limitations helps us to become better just war casuists, and it highlights the need for values-driven strategic thinking in the foreign policy sphere.

With Ukraine languishing outside the safety of the NATO alliance, the consensus seems to be that there is little the alliance can do as Putin enforces his latter-day Brezhnev Doctrine. That consensus view is wrong.

MLK’s arc towards justice doesn’t entail passivity and requires sacrificial labor with patience. It also offers confidence that such labors are not in vain. There is a cosmic superstructure, and its Architect presides and will prevail.

President Biden’s decision to fully extend the treaty without condition was mostly met with a figurative sigh of relief from arms control advocates and those who seek a world “free of nuclear weapons.” But Americans should be sober-minded about the real impact of the treaty, and not be lulled into believing New START, or any one treaty, will moderate US adversaries or better position the United States in our competition with either Russia or China.

Grey zone conflicts—like those in Ukraine and the South China Sea—are major threats both to a just peace and American security interests. The just war tradition needs to consider them more.

Trump is not the first president to put conditions on aid to a foreign land, but he may be the first to do so in order to score petty political points.

While many aspects of the Russo-Ukrainian war—such as the annexation of Crimea, the shootdown of passenger airliner MH17, and the creation of an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church—have been widely discussed by experts, the plight of religious minorities in occupied eastern Ukraine has largely gone ignored.

Russia has historically been a challenging topic for scholars. Geographically, most of Russia lies in continental Asia, but culturally most…

While Crimea may not be returned to Ukraine for decades, Putin’s Kremlin will not last forever. Since the future global political landscape is unpredictable, America has the responsibility as the leader of the free world to provide clear and consistent messaging on issues of freedom and the rule of law. President Trump should know that in the long run Crimean annexation non-recognition will pay off, just as 50 unwavering years of the United States’ Baltic annexation non-recognition policy eventually paid off.