Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Jeffrey Sachs: Four Years of War in Ukraine - Hegemony or Peace?
9 snips
Feb 23, 2026 
Jeffrey Sachs, economist and policy advisor known for work on post‑communist transitions and sustainable development, explores the four‑year fallout of the Ukraine war. He discusses why Germany holds unique responsibility, how 1990s U.S. triumphalism shaped the crisis, blocked settlement chances, and how the conflict accelerated a shift toward multipolarity and Eurasian alignment.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
U.S. Triumphalism Fueled The Conflict
- U.S. triumphalism after the Cold War made policymakers expect Russia to acquiesce rather than resist.
- Jeffrey Sachs argues that Western insistence on dominance, not security, drove escalation and prolonged the war.
Germany's Pivotal Role In The Crisis
- Germany holds central responsibility because of repeated policy choices from 1990 through Minsk that eased NATO expansion and failed to enforce agreements.
- Sachs cites Merkel's 2008 Bucharest reversal and Germany's role as Minsk II guarantor that it did not enforce.
Kohl's Promise During German Reunification
- Helmut Kohl promised Gorbachev that NATO would not move east as part of securing German reunification in 1990.
- Sachs recounts Kohl and Genscher repeatedly assuring Moscow this was the basis for reunification.