Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Richard Sakwa: The Russo-Ukrainian War: Follies of Empire
Mar 4, 2026
Richard Sakwa, a leading scholar of Russian and European politics, discusses his book on the Russo‑Ukrainian war. He contrasts competing world order models and the political West. He examines narratives, law, and diplomacy failures. He explores civilizational rhetoric, Russian security claims, Ukraine’s internal divides, and practical steps for sustained peace and European security reform.
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Distinguishing System From Competing World Orders
- The international order is best understood as a charter-based system plus competing models of world order that operate within it.
- Richard Sakwa contrasts the UN-centered international system with the US-led political West and emerging anti-hegemonic and Global South models to clarify the conflict context.
Political West Has A Commonwealth And Imperial Face
- The political West has a dual nature: a Commonwealth face that offers public goods and an imperial facet that expands power.
- Sakwa argues NATO/EU expansion post-1989 exemplifies the West's imperializing tendency that undermines UN universality.
Four Competing Models Shape Global Conflict
- Multiple models now compete: the US-led political West, an anti-hegemonic Russia–China alignment, the Global South, and a power-based Trumpian disruption.
- Each model has different commitments to multilateralism, sovereignty, and power, shaping crises like Ukraine.