In an article published February 25 in the International Relations and Security Network Digital Library News, Sunil Dasgupta analyzed the shifting balance of power between the United States and Russia in light of recent events in Ukraine.
“Russia’s ability to defy the United States and other Western powers in Ukraine (as well as Moscow’s support of the Syrian and Iranian regimes) since late 2013 has suggested that the period of soft balancing is over. The return of traditional balance of power politics implies that a multipolar world, in which the United States is one of many similarly positioned great powers, may have arrived,” Dasgupta wrote.
Dasgupta, director of UMBC’s political science program at the Universities of Shady Grove, also noted that the balance of power could be affected by rising powers such as China and India and their decisions whether or not to side with Russia.
“If the road to multipolarity runs through Ukraine, however, not everyone is seeing the same view en route. On the one hand, it is clear that Russia has been able to use economic interdependence, modern technology, and a proxy war strategy to resist the United States and other Western powers. On the other, the dangers of overreach are all too evident. Russia is on the precipice of alienating Europe, revitalizing NATO, and bankrupting itself if energy prices remain low.”
To read the full article titled “Does the Road to a Multipolar World Run through Ukraine,” click here.
Tags: CAHSS, PoliticalScience
