My Take | The West needs to prepare for ‘ugly’ Russian victory in Ukraine, which will reward China, leading US political scientist warns
- In an exclusive interview, John Mearsheimer tells My Take the war will drag on, and any ceasefire will at best lead to ‘a cold peace’ with significant gains for Russia
John Mearsheimer, the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, has been described by The Atlantic magazine as one of the most famous critics of American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War.
Since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, but especially the war in Ukraine more than a year ago, he has been providing cogent if controversial assessments of the conflict that has plunged the European Union into its deepest crisis.
In an interview with My Take, he offers a pessimistic assessment on the prospect for peace in Europe, the role of China in this conflict and its implications for Taiwan as a flashpoint in the intensifying rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
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China is ‘big winner’ in Ukraine-Russia war, says leading US political scientist
What do you make of the aborted coup by the Wagner mercenary group, in terms of the power dynamics in Moscow and the war in Ukraine?
In the West, there was a lot of wishful thinking about the mutiny. A lot of people were hoping it would bring down [Vladimir] Putin or at least weaken him. This would allow Ukraine and the West to prevail over the Russians. But that did not happen. In fact, as a result of the mutiny, Putin’s position will be improved; he will be stronger.