
Image credit: Presidential Office of Ukraine
Research Fellow Christopher Mott authored an opinion piece for the National Interest. He argues that “in an increasingly multipolar world, the powers that show restraint towards such forms of interventionism will find themselves stronger compared to those who undertook unnecessary military operations in contested countries.”
The era of larger powers being able to easily topple smaller governments they do not like has come to a close due to the ability of rivals to arm, equip, train, and economically support smaller motivated countries. It is therefore imperative that the Washington foreign policy establishment learn the true lesson of the war in Ukraine: Invading a sovereign nation with the intent to perform political engineering against the will of its population is a fool’s errand that will likely result in a costly quagmire. Defending the concept of sovereignty, on the other hand, is much easier, especially for a distant naval power like the United States.
Dr. Christopher Mott (@ChrisDMott) is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy and a Research Fellow at Defense Priorities in Washington D.C.