Garčević and Lukes Provide Perspective on Unfolding Crisis in Ukraine
Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, and Igor Lukes, Professor of International Relations and History at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, were interviewed for a BU Today on the crisis Ukraine.
The article, titled “Russia and Ukraine Explained and Analyzed,” features an extensive Q&A with the two Pardee School professors who offer their perspective on the stunning developments in Ukraine, Russia’s military encroachment, and the ensuing global response. In their interview, Garčević and Lukes touch on the severity of the situation for Europe and the United States, its impact on global democracies, President Vladimir Putin’s endgame, and how this crisis will unfold.
An excerpt:
Q: Are fears that Putin will threaten other nations if he succeeds in Ukraine warranted? Is this the start of a new and unstable Cold War?
Garčević: When it comes to Russia’s intentions, I’m not sure that they’re going to go further…But Russia may play in another part of Europe, like the Balkans, where I come from. The Balkans are not fully integrated into the European Union or NATO. It can be seen as an easy target, low-hanging fruit. It is what many people are concerned about, including me. There are also people [there] very supportive of Russia.
Lukes: Excepting the crises in Berlin, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Able Archer in 1983 [when a NATO military exercise panicked Russia into readying nuclear forces], the Cold War was a stable and predictable affair. The Kremlin leaders, including Stalin and Brezhnev, were rational actors. Putin is not. Therefore, he is a threat to the world order, and he is probably proud of it.
The full article can be read on BU Today‘s website.
During his diplomatic career, Ambassador Vesko Garčević dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been a Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School. Learn more about Ambassador Garčević on his faculty profile.
Igor Lukes is a past winner of the 1997 Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2020 winner of the Gitner Prize for Faculty Excellence at the Pardee School. He writes primarily about Central Europe. His work has won the support of various other institutions, including Fulbright, Fulbright-Hays, the Woodrow Wilson Center, IREX, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Read more about Professor Lukes on his faculty profile.