Professor Paul Dibb will speak on "
Why did Putin invade Ukraine?" at the Australian National University in Canberra, 1:30pm, 20 March 2014.
Why did Putin invade Ukraine?
Public Lecture: School of International, Political & Strategic Studies, ANU College of Asia & the Pacific
Speaker: Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb
Date: Thursday, 20 March, 2014 - 12:30 to 13:30
Abstract:
This talk examines why Putin decided to intervene in Ukraine. What
were the major deciding factors from his point of view?
Getting inside Putin's mind requires understanding Russia’s perspectives
on the geopolitics of Ukraine's potential membership of the EU and
NATO; the military importance of the naval base in Crimea; the deep
history of Russia's relationship with Ukraine--both ancient and modern;
and how Putin is playing the Ukraine/Crimea issue in domestic politics.
None of this is to ignore a very different and legitimate perspective
coming out of Kiev. But we need to understand what is driving Putin and
how much further is he likely to go militarily.
Professor Dibb also addresses the issue of the use of force by Moscow
and the reactions of the West. Have we returned to a previous era where
military strength is supreme and spheres of influence prevail? And
will the Russian experience be replicated in our part of the world by an
increasingly powerful and assertive China?
Biography
Paul Dibb is Emeritus Professor of strategic studies in the School of
International, Political and Strategic Studies, College of Asia and the
Pacific at the ANU. He was head of the Strategic and Defence Studies
Centre from 1991 to 2004. Before that he held the positions of deputy
secretary for Defence, director of the Joint Intelligence Organisation
and head of the National Assessments Staff.
He studied the former Soviet Union for over 20 years both as a senior
intelligence officer and academic. He advised ASIO on certain Soviet
activities. His book The Soviet Union--the Incomplete Superpower was
published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London
in 1986, reprinted 1987 and second edition 1988.
Light lunch will be provided after the lecture
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