Putin’s philosophers: Who inspired him to invade Ukraine? Santiago Zabala
Putin’s philosophers: Who inspired him to invade Ukraine? Santiago Zabala
Santiago Zabala, ICREA Research professor at the UPF Departament of Humanities, with Claudio Gallo, former La Stampa London correspondent
31.03.2022
Article published in Aljazeera on March, 30 2022
Who would have imagined that news of the pandemic – which is not over – would be replaced with news of a new war in Europe? If we are to go by the shock expressed by so many in the media over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch an all-out invasion of Ukraine, the answer is not many.
Actually, there was little reason to be surprised. Just as many scientists and institutions had been warning that a new influenza pandemic was imminent years before COVID-19, many political scientists and journalists, from John Mearsheimer to Pepe Escobar, have long been warning that if NATO continues expanding towards Russia’s borders, a deadly confrontation in Ukraine could be on the cards.