This week I wanted to do some exploration on the negative affects that helping the situation in Crimea could be, especially in terms of our relationship with Russia. I was curious what could happen with our relationship to Russia if we get involved, and if it could hurt the already tender ties we have.
Walt, Vivienne, Geoff Colvin, and Phil Wahba. "The
Putin Paradox." Fortune 170.6 (2014): 82-86. Ebscohost. Web.
3 Mar. 2015.
The article I found was called "The Putin Paradox" and really focused on the current relationship America has with Russia and what it was like back during the cold war and how it could escalate to that again. It argues that there will be escalating tension between Russia and America if we continue to "poke our nose" into their business. This could be damaging for US oil producers and investment banking, but could all be avoidable if we stay out of more conflict. The article goes on to talk about the escalating tensions we have that were made worse when Russia seized Crimea and the United States decided to get involved. It has been a game of back and forth since then between us and Russia, and each time the stakes get slightly higher. The scariest part of this article is that some believe that this could lead to Putin trying to fight the west in a "hot war", instead of the cold war we previously had. The articles states that we should just keep the peace between the United States and Russia, even if that means leaving Ukraine to fend for itself.
When I read this article I wondered about the background of the person who wrote it, and what their area of study was in. I think that they made valid points, but at the same time wonder why they think that Putin would really launch a full scale war against so many western countries that have alliances with each other. I can see the authors point, that we should try and maintain relations with Russia and not back ourselves back into that cold war era, but I don't necessarily agree with the authors saying that if we don't please Russia, Putin will launch an attack on all of the west. This source does change my thinking a little though, because it shows what some people think could happen if we cross Russia. While I think it is unreasonable that Russia would send nuclear weapons our way, I do see the importance of maintaining good relations with the world power. This source leads me to answers for my initial question, but probably not the answer, and it wouldn't hurt to do more research on this topic as well. This article did shed light on how the Russian conflict has already impacted certain America industries, such a car sales, so this was something new for me that I didn't anticipate or think about already.
This article contradicts the first article I read, since that article talked about why the United States needed to get involved and support Ukraine. One article thought positively of U.S. involvement, while the other did not. These authors would definitely make for an interesting conversation. While the first article stated that the United States needed to support Ukraine because it is an important pathway for the west and east, this author would say that it doesn't matter how important Crimea is, getting involved would end in a very bad situation that can't be justified. I tend to agree with the first source more, just because I don't see Putin as as big of a threat as this author does. While Russia definitely has a tremendous amount of world power, entering into a war against the western nations would be foolish for them, and I like to think even Putin could agree with that.
My next question is what Crimea thinks about the whole situation and whether or not they want United Stated involvement. It is important to see what they want too, since this issue is mainly about them. The right questions to be asking are the ones I have been asking, questions that will give more than one side and questions that will lead me to new theories that I haven't though of already. So far my answers are very contradicting, but with more research I will be able to chose which sources are most reasonable.
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