A war no one wants? The political economy of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

How can so many think that there will be a war between Russia and Ukraine when it is so hard to see any winner in such a war. Can the political gains for Russia’s leaders really outweigh the loss of a good neighbor, significant economic sanctions that will undermine growth for years to come and the failure of a new gas connection to Europe? What is Putin's logic and how does Russian public opinion perceive the war? What will be the response to further aggressions in Ukraine as well as in the rest of Europe and the US? There are many questions but few hard answers, but the event will provide some thinking on these and other issues.

High-level seminar on the risk of war between Russia and Ukraine and potential consequences

The discussions will be introduced and moderated by Torbjörn Becker, Director of SITE. The event will take place in a webinar format and to be open to the public through digital channels. However, registration is required if you are interested to join the seminar. The date is 17 February 2022, and will start at 17.00-18.30, CET (Stockholm time).

Special guests

Andrei Kolesnikov, Senior Fellow and Chair of the Russian domestic politics and political institutions program at the Carnegie Moscow center who has recently written “What Would a War With Ukraine Mean for Ordinary Russians?”.

Tymofiy Mylovanov, President of the Kyiv School of Economics KSE President, Associate Professor of the University of Pittsburgh, and former minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, with profound insights in the Ukrainian economic and political system.

Elena Paltseva, Associate professor at SITE, who recently co-authored the FREE policy brief “What does the Gas Crisis Reveal About European Energy Security?” together with Chloé Le Coq. 

Moderator

Torbjörn Becker, Director of SITE, who has written extensively on Russian macro, its oil dependency, and the effects of sanctions.