Why is Ukraine the West's Fault? Featuring John Mearsheimer

Caption notes

In this 2015 University of Chicago lecture, John Mearsheimer offers his interpretation of the 2014 Ukraine crisis. He separates long-term factors, immediate triggers and Russia’s response, putting NATO enlargement, the EU’s eastward expansion and Western democracy promotion at the center of his account. He explains his view of security through how great powers respond to alliances involving their neighbors, then proposes a neutral Ukraine and an economic aid effort involving multiple parties. This guide presents the argument he made in 2015. The causal interpretation and policy judgments are his.