Americans, Ukraine and the “Need to Know”

Those who have anything but the thinnest sense of memory know that we live in an inter-connected world.  We have no choice.  Our security, economy, and sense of well-being are all intricately connected to the plight of others in our world.  When some people and societies are abused or assaulted, the ripples find their way to every corner of the globe.  Dislocations in the flow of food and goods, compelling migrations, and radicalization are all clear consequences of the Ukraine war.  Borders are altogether incapable of insulating societies.  And the effects are never short-term.  Human behavior is transformed by violence.  People are never the same again.  Those who are victims, those who perpetrate the violence, and those who seek ways to ameliorate the damage are all affected. 

Many of the episodes of societal violence and even inter-state war for many decades have been experienced by small states in distant corners of the world.  Many Americans have found it easy to ignore or dismiss the impact.  Clearly that is unfortunate.  But when a significant, large and constructive country like Ukraine is invaded by a another large and unpredictable, aggressive country, we all need to recognize the danger.  Ukraine is a young country though with deep roots in its heritage.  It is young in the sense that it is just beginning to embrace the challenges associated with guiding its own trajectory in politics, economics and culture.  The Ukrainian story for the past thirty years has been an uneven tale of searching for the consensus that can drive a modern democratic country.  There have been fits and starts and even an occasional step backwards, but the overall trajectory is positive, clear and requiring Western support and encouragement. 

Ukraine’s neighbor, the Russian Federation, has faced the same challenges of defining and charting a course for itself.  But in Russia’s case the path chosen by the hapless Yeltsin and the bewildering early years of Putin, created no clear map for that system to follow.  In political science we think in terms of the building of “institutions” that can become the foundations for both public and elite political behavior.  That is always a tenuous undertaking, but in Ukraine the process began and in Russia it did not.  The post-2018 election of Vladimir Putin abandoned principle and people-focused values and reverted to the default authoritarianism that had characterized Soviet politics.  Ukraine was not without missteps and it did suffer pre-war from a naïve impatience for societal progress.  In many ways, the Ukrainian impatience, while risky, did spur change in a democratic direction.  Many dysfunctional political and economic behaviors (corruption among them) will take a much longer time to purge from the society. 

In those delicate formative years, Ukraine’s best efforts at stabilizing and democratizing were sabotaged by Russa’s meddling in Ukrainian politics in the east (Donbas, Luhansk).  Active support for break-away elements in the Ukrainian industrial east redirected Ukrainian resources and energy from its political development.  In 2014, when the Ukrainian government was at its most vulnerable given instability, disorganization and debilitating controversy about leadership and direction, the Russians seized Crimea in violation of principle, law and fundamentals of global citizenship.  In essence, the seizure of Crimea was the Russian proclamation that it was intent upon undermining the very independence and existence of the Ukrainian state.  Russia’s behavior in 2022 was so egregious that it can no longer be considered a country worthy of diplomatic, political or commercial relationships. 

Ukraine’s fifty-two million people have ALL been impacted by the war!  The deaths still to be counted.  The physical injuries that may never heal.  The mental trauma of what they witness.  The mental and personal costs of being forcibly driven from their homes.  The reality that those homes will not exist when and if the time comes to return.  The enduring sense of insecurity spawned by the reality that the very neighbor that wrought the violence remains looming on the vast expanse of Ukraine’s borders.  And the infrastructure – factories, industries, farms, transportation systems, utilities, ports, jobs, schools, hospitals that will no longer exist. 

Should Americans care that a significant country with which we share values has been devastated, possibly destroyed?  Are we so unaware of what we do matters?  Do we not see the threat from leaders and countries that seem not to value human life, who seem to care not at all about providing a quality of life for their own citizens and those around them?  The US is a composite of millions of people with personal heritage from every corner of the world.  America is built on the use of their energy and experiences.  Only stupidity could account for Americans trying to detach themselves from what happens elsewhere.  We produce for the world.  We buy from the world.  We become healthier when the world is healthier, and we become sick when the world suffers from sickness. Ukraine matters!  It matters NOW and it will matter for as long as it is subjected to the abuse of the war.  Many Americans will say the cost is too high.  It is important to remember that we have created a society that can afford even high costs unlike so many other societies.  And, the reality is that the costs we are facing now could seem small when the patterns of our global society begin to break down in the face of hostile countries bent on conflict.

Ukraine’s performance in the war has been exemplary – courageous and resourceful but only possible with the commitment from NATO.  Ukraine has reason to be hopeful.  It has proven that Ukrainians can coalesce when faced by an intimidating foe.  It has put aside pre-war squabbling and ordered its values.  It has decided which path it wants and needs to take post-conflict.  There is reason to hope that when the war ends, Ukraine will rekindle its commitment to education of a 21^st Century variety and recognize that human potential is the key to any society’s future.  If it does that, it will distinguish itself from its hostile neighbor in ever so clear ways.  The only flaw in this scenario is a constant concern that the west and the US in particular will experience donor fatigue and succumb to domestic and partisan political pressures that at this time seem to guarantee that when one party supports an effort the other feels compelled to oppose it.  Each of us should decide now to provide the support necessary to enable Ukraine to survive the war and to begin the rehabilitation of that society.