Mart Kuldkepp writes:

Much of the West’s commentary on Russia’s war against Ukraine has fallen victim to critical blind spots or inherent biases—an approach often claimed as “realism” but which has little to do with academic international relations theories. As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion continues, it’s time to consider what a better approach to punditry on Russia’s war against Ukraine would look like.

To be sure, I am not a neutral observer—in fact, I couldn’t possibly be more pro-Ukraine. My view is shaped by being an Eastern European academic working at an elite Western university. But as a researcher who specializes in how people make sense of ongoing conflicts, I believe pointing out some of these biases and blind spots can help us make better sense of the war.

The biggest blind spot of all is the Ukrainians themselves. More than two months into the invasion, it is striking how little agency Ukrainians are habitually given in analyzing unfolding events. The realist (in reality, colonialist) understanding of Ukraine as a passive periphery, the fate of which must be inevitably decided by Russia and the West, has led to underestimations of the role of the Ukrainian armed forces, civil society, national and local governments, and, most of all, Ukraine’s strong will to resist.

Russian aggression is not impersonal, Western assistance is not automatic, and T-72 Russian battle tanks don’t pop off their turrets by accident. This is Ukraine’s new war of independence, a nation-shaping conflict that will define the country’s sense of identity for generations, and Ukrainians have the central role in it.

The best way to mitigate for this is to follow and read Ukrainian journalists, politicians, academics, and others commenting on the war as well as amplify their voices and contributions. Don’t assume that Ukrainians are untrustworthy because they must be biased or are producing and repeating their own forms of propaganda because they are one of the parties to the conflict.

In fact, Ukrainians often know what is going on best exactly because they are there on the ground in the thick of it. Ukrainian reporters, analysts, and commentators have constantly been more accurate and insightful than almost any Western ones, both in 2014 with Russia’s invasion of Crimea and now. The early casualty numbers that were widely treated as Ukrainian propaganda have in fact been largely borne out. So too have early reports of the sinking of the Russian flagship Moskva, denied by Russia, proved to be accurate.

Ukrainians aren’t passive victims of Putin’s aggression who are looking for Western pity and handouts. They are, in fact, looking for recognition that they share a common cause with the West and that the West needs to do its part, not simply free ride on Ukrainian efforts (and, effectively, their lives). [Continue reading…]