Departures with Robert Amsterdam

As the war in Ukraine grinds into yet another brutal winter, narratives are shifting in Western capitals regarding the nature of the conflict, its goals, and the longer term meaning of the war in terms of the balance of power on the European continent. Looking back to the war's origins, it is important not only to examine the build-up of Russia's aggression against the sovereignty of its neighboring states, but also the decades of miscalculations and lost opportunities specifically by the United States during the post-Cold War period.

This is the central focus of the new book published by Jonathan Haslam, Professor Emeritus of the History of International Relations at the University of Cambridge and one of the UK’s most distinguished and respected experts on the former Soviet Union.

In his latest book, "Hubris: The American Origins of Russia's War against Ukraine," Haslam observes that a gross and systemic lack of understanding by Western allies concerning Russia’s intentions and likely actions is ultimately to blame for the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. In this discussion with Robert Amsterdam about the history of NATO expansion and covert US activity within Ukraine, Haslam argues that even up to the Maidan crisis of 2014, the US could have backed away and avoided the negative outcome which will be dealing with for generations.

In October of 1973, Israel's existence as an independent state was shaken to its core when Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed into the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, triggering a conflict of sprawling geopolitical scale. This week, in October of 2023, following an unprecedented series of violent terror attacks against Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas, the nation once again finds itself in existential crisis - with similarities to the past conflict too numerous to ignore.

Five decades later, public understanding of the conflict, its causes, and its protagonists is evolving as more and more materials and archives are declassified and made available to researchers. Taking advantage of these incredibly valuable resources comes the first new book on the Yom Kippur War in decades, authored by Uri Kaufman, titled, "Eighteen Days in October: The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East."

Speaking with Robert Amsterdam on the Departures podcast, Kaufman explains how the book represents a culmination of 20 years of research, including deep dives into English, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and German archival source material to draw exceedingly detailed and unforgettable portraits of the main characters who found themselves at the center of the war.

Kaufman also shares his perspective and analysis of the current turmoil and commentary on the complicated political scenario making further escalation likely. The author points out that "the first casualty of war is not truth, although that is a close second. The first casualties are the assumptions you had going into the conflict."

As Russia's catastrophic war in Ukraine lurches its way toward another winter, an interesting debate is emerging regarding some of the fundamental ideas of Russian nationalism which has underpinned Vladimir Putin's casus belli, often including specifically misleading characterizations of history being used as a mobilizing force.

In considering the relative complacency if not broad support for the war among the general public in Russia, there has been a consistent narrative spun out by the state - one of Western conspiracies, distrust, and patriotic duty.

This week on the podcast we welcome Dr. Jade McGlynn, the author of the excellent new book, "Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia," who has accomplished a seminal work of research on the subject.

In her conversation with host Robert Amsterdam, Dr. McGlynn argues that peope's understanding of the past is becoming a core part of their identity, and this in turn becomes a security issue. "A historical disagreement is not just a historical disagreement, but instead is seen as almost an existential attack," Dr. McGlynn says, and this is a type of mobilization that can be observed in many countries outside of Russia as well.

"Most people want to belong to a community, they want to feel like they have somewhere they belong that can trace its heritage into the past, and feel good about that belonging," McGlynn argues. Unfortunately, many of the more traditional political figures appear to have lost touch with the importance of belonging, she argues, and left this space open for manipulation by demogogues and other extreme forces.

State repression, whether or not it’s outwardly aggressive, invites backlash. So how does the Chinese state maintain control during disruptive periods of intense urbanization, even as heavy consequences impact society?

This week Departures is pleased to feature a discussion with Lynette Ong, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto about her excellent new book, "Outsourcing Repression Everyday State Power in Contemporary China."

Through the coordination of independent social forces, including thugs and gangsters, local governments across China have successfully repressed the masses in land expropriation cases, and through evictions for demolition projects. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these nonstate actors have morphed into medical personnel and volunteers who are known community members. Ong argues this leveraging of neighbors and familiar faces to enforce the zero covid policy contributes to social compliance amid what are seen as increasingly harsh restrictions on the most basic personal liberties.

In her discussion with host Robert Amsterdam, Prof. Ong discusses the recent zero covid policy and food shortages in Shanghai, where social unrest could be reaching a level unmatched by outsourced repression. Amsterdam and Ong discuss potential structural outcomes for how the party will need to adapt to manage social crises and if the current model experiences such a high profile break down.

As this coming February will mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion and occupation of Eastern Ukraine, there is already a clear and tangible impact upon the geopolitical challenges faced by the United States and her allies in Europe in terms of their roles in the international system.

This week Departures with Robert Amsterdam is pleased to welcome back past guest Michael Kimmage, noted historian, former State Department official, and Associate Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. In this conversation we review his excellent new book, "Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability," which critically examines the contributing causes to the outbreak of the war and measures the irrevocable ways in which the conflict has altered the course of US strategic engagement in the international sphere.

In his book, Kimmage argues that the war has shattered three critical assumptions - that European peace was permanent, that Europe could continue to sustain this stability without heavy US involvement, and lastly, that Russia would be consigned to a peripheral role. With those assumptions now gone, Kimmage and host Robert Amsterdam discuss what we can expect next.