You'll need several coffees and a pen, and an open mind to read Ramzy Mardini's long read into the war in Ukraine. A rare portrayal. He argues it was accommodation, not deterrence, that constituted the correct approach to starve off the prospect of war. nationalinterest.org/feature/course…

An important, forcefully argued essay by Ramzy Mardini⁩ that raises difficult but necessary questions about the competing narratives on Russia’s brutal occupation of Ukraine nationalinterest.org/feature/course…

I recommend the #WaPo's long piece on the run-up to the Ukraine War: washingtonpost.com/national-secur… But you should also read this new piece in The National Interest by Ramzy Mardini too: nationalinterest.org/feature/course…

This is a long article but I highly recommend it; regardless where you stand on the war in Ukraine, he offers views and insights not shared in Western media—affiliated with Western governments. Course Correcting Toward Diplomacy in the Ukraine Crisis nationalinterest.org/feature/course…

Everything you need to know about the Ukraine conflict in the geopolitical context of 21st century Europe. This article is a reality check, extremely researched and well written. Long but necessary. A must. nationalinterest.org/feature/course…

I really liked this piece - looks at the decision making in Washington DC and the incorrect assumptions that led to failed deterrence turning into the mother of all proxy wars. nationalinterest.org/feature/course…

In years to come, in a new age of great power conflict, people will be forced to reckon with John Mearsheimer, a thinker who specialises in voicing harsh truths, writes Gavin Jacobson. newstatesman.com/ideas/2023/09/…

Interesting argument in this article by Ramzy Mardini, an associate at the University of Chicago, who says that Western escalation strategy in Ukraine is fundamentally flawed because it lacks "escalation dominance" over Russia. nationalinterest.org/feature/perils… He makes the point, first

Too often, Kurdish leaders take the word of an American leader as an ironclad guarantee. They misinterpret or misread the reality because they do not incorporate domestic politics into their calculations. The fact that American public opinion does not support this war should be a