Over the past month we’ve seen a lot happening in the East.  Georgia tried to assimilate its semi-autonomous regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.  Russia invaded Georgia and the world reacted with outrage.  Now a new crisis has occurred in the region with the formal declaration of collapse in Ukraine.  This collapse has increased worries of Russian interference with pro-West governments in the region.

The destabilization of yet another country in the region does not bode well for a world that is supposed to be done with power politics.  As we watch the government reacting to this crisis in Ukraine it will be important to watch for signs of rising Russian influence in the country, especially in Crimea, a region that is already semi-autonomous and pro-Russia. 

The collapse of the Ukrainian government has happened due to the differing reactions towards the South Ossetia War in Georgia earlier this month.  President Yatsenyuk attacked the country’s Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, for not reacting strongly enough to the conflict, saying that she has committed high treason for her lack of strong words against Russia.  She has defended her lack of vocal outcry, saying that she fully supports Georgia and the EU’s position in the matter.  She stated that she felt it was important not to aggrevate Russia at this time, a move I would call an exercise in good diplomacy.  President Yatsenyuk has declared that the coalition that resulted from the Orange Revolution has officially collapsed and has stepped down from his position.

I feel a chill.

Posted by Wes Mueller on 09/17 at 12:09 PM  •   •  permalink

I don’t know how we can say “does not bode well for a world that is supposed to be done with power politics” when the U.S. uses power politics as a regular practice.  In fact, that is probably what has led us to this current situation.  After the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Russia was in a position of little power and we pushed them around because we could.  As they prosper and their power increases, they are pushing back.  And we’re surprised?

comment posted by Chalene Mueller on 09/21 at 06:54 PM.