Anders Åslund
Says More…
This week in Say More, PS talks with Anders Åslund, the author of Russia’s Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy (Yale University Press, 2019).
Project Syndicate: What happens next in Ukraine will depend significantly on the outcome of this week’s US presidential election. A victory for Donald Trump – who has pledged to end the war in a day – would presumably give Ukraine no time to strengthen its position on the battlefield or continue draining Russian resources. In such a scenario, how might Ukraine and its partners leverage Russia’s economic weaknesses – which you note are “more severe than is commonly understood” – to bring an end to the war that does not involve “complete capitulation to the Kremlin”?
Anders Åslund: In the last two months, I have traveled to six European countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine. In all of them, the frightening possibility of a Trump victory – which would be disastrous for Ukraine and Europe – loomed large.
The Nordic and Baltic countries – which, united by shared fears and interests, increasingly operate as the “Nordic-Baltic Eight” – are ramping up their defense expenditures, redoubling their commitment to NATO, and seeking to provide as much support as possible to Ukraine. The Czech, Dutch, Polish, and Romanian governments take similar positions. While they might not say so publicly, owing to diplomatic considerations, all these countries desire nothing less than regime change in Russia.