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Opinion | Ukraine crisis has brought US’ naive foreign policy into sharp focus
- The US is convinced Russia will be politically and economically impotent, European nations will return to their place under American’s wing, and the threat of sanctions will keep China in line
- But what happens if both Russia and China call the US’ bluff?
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As the war in Ukraine drags on, political scientist Francis Fukuyama has reasserted his “end of history” proposition, saluting the Ukrainians for making sacrifices for it.
Fukuyama’s position deems Ukraine as an attestation of Pax Americana being resurrected, in that it is only a matter of time before Russia collapses, as the Soviet Union did in the aftermath of its invasion of Afghanistan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched “special military actions” into Ukraine on February 24, claiming that Nato’s incessant expansion eastward threatened Russia’s national security, leaving him no choice but to push back.
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Since then, Washington has orchestrated swift and severe international sanctions against Russia, including a halt to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which links Russian gas to Europe via Germany, ejecting selected Russian financial institutions from the Swift global payment system, and providing Ukraine with all the means for resistance. Germany has promised to increase military spending to €100 billion (US$113 billion), an unprecedented move in the post-World-War-II years.
The rouble tanked under the crushing sanctions; even McDonald’s shut its operations in the country. Russians’ assets are being seized overseas.
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How international sanctions imposed since Ukraine invasion are hitting Russia
How international sanctions imposed since Ukraine invasion are hitting Russia
US President Joe Biden vowed to make Putin a “pariah on the international stage” and called him a “war criminal”, a designation the US Senate endorsed in a resolution.
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