Michta to speak about crisis in Ukraine

Image courtesy of “Horyzont” aired on tvn24, Poland

Andrew Michta, PhD, M.W. Buckman Distinguished Professor of International Studies at Rhodes College, will speak Thursday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. in Watkins Room in the Trone Student Center on the Furman University campus.

His talk, “U.S., Russia and Crisis in Ukraine: How Bad Can This Get?” is free and open to the public and is presented by the Riley Institute at Furman and the Furman University Department of Political Science. It is a Cultural Life Program event.

The Ukrainian conflict, triggered by the sending of troops by Russia to the Ukrainian region of Crimea this year, has tested relations between the West and Moscow. The downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by pro-Russian rebels has exacerbated the crisis and further strained relations.

Dr. Michta will address whether recent events and Russian security and economic policy during Vladimir Putin’s leadership are part of a bigger strategy to reclaim power. Michta will share his perspective on these issues in addition to examining the conflict’s predicted impact on geopolitical relationships and structures. He will also explore the implications for the NATO-Russian-Ukraine relationship and Russia’s diplomatic standing with the U.S.

Recently appointed as an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in DC, Michta previously served as a senior fellow focusing on defense programming at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington during 2013-14. In 2011-13 he was a senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the director of the GMFUS Warsaw office.

Earlier positions include: senior scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center; professor of National Security Studies, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany; visiting scholar, Stanford University’s Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; East Europe editor for Problems of Post-Communism; public policy Scholar at the Wilson Center; and research associate, George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Michta has written extensively on U.S. and European security, NATO, transatlantic relations, civil-military relations and democratization. He is a frequent media contributor and government consultant, and writes a regular commentary, “On Europe and Security,” for The American Interest. His latest book, The Future of NATO: Regional Defense and Global Security, is available from University of Michigan Press.

For more information about the program, follow this link. Or contact the Riley Institute at Furman University, (864) 294-3546.