The current conflict in Ukraine has spawned the most serious crisis between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. It has undermined European security, raised questions about NATO’s future, and put an end to one of the most ambitious projects of U.S. foreign policy—building a partnership with Russia. It has even undermined EU and U.S. diplomatic efforts on issues from terrorism to nuclear proliferation.

In the absence of direct negotiations, each side is betting that political and economic pressure will force the other to blink first. Caught in this dangerous standoff, the West cannot afford to lose sight of the importance of stable relations with Russia.

In Conflict in Ukraine: The Unwinding of the Post–Cold War Order, authors Rajan Menon and Eugene Rumer put this conflict in a historical perspective by examining the evolution of the crisis and assessing its implications both for Ukraine and for Russia’s relations with the West.

Carnegie Europe hosted a debate with the book’s authors and panelist Ulrich Speck, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe. Carnegie’s Judy Dempsey moderated.

RAJAN MENON
Rajan Menon holds the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair in Political Science at the City College of New York/City University of New York. He is also a senior research scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies of Columbia University.

EUGENE RUMER
Eugene Rumer is a senior associate and the director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

ULRICH SPECK
Ulrich Speck is a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe.

JUDY DEMPSEY
Judy Dempsey is a nonresident senior associate at Carnegie Europe and editor in chief of the Strategic Europe blog.