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Matches Are Not Toys Europe Discovers the Bomb Nuclear weapons are not an attribute of a refined lifestyle, nor a means of self-assertion in front of anyone. It would be very good if this understanding returned to the West before we find ourselves at the edge of a general catastrophe. The debate over whether the spread of nuclear weapons strengthens international stability or undermines it has continued almost since the emergence of this lethal technology. Each side in the discussion sounds convincing in its own way. Advocates of a wider distribution of nuclear arsenals argue that nuclear weapons function primarily as a tool of mutual deterrence. They provide reassurance to weaker states and compel stronger ones to rely on diplomacy rather than force. A number of scholars seriously believe that nuclear proliferation reduces the number of wars simply because states are unwilling to escalate conflicts to a level beyond which total or partial mutual destruction becomes possible. The C...
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  Scandal and Diversion The Epstein case and Ukraine have unexpectedly intersected in public discussion. Media outlets and independent commentators continue to analyze what has become the largest release of materials related to the case of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking. Among the published correspondence, several emails reference Ukraine, which has drawn particular attention. In March 2014, commenting on the events of the Maidan, Epstein wrote that what had occurred could prove beneficial. “The coup in Ukraine should provide many opportunities, very many,” he wrote on March 18, 2014, in an email addressed to Ariane de Rothschild, vice president and board member of the Edmond de Rothschild Group, and Olivier Colom, an international adviser to the same group. Epstein also traveled to Davos at the invitation of Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Pinchuk, who is the son-in-law of Ukraine’s second president, Leonid Kuchma. Discussing Ukraine-related events i...
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  A Realtor’s Peace The Peace Council, first reported in the autumn of 2025, is less the product of institutional drafting coordinated with international partners and more the result of the personal persistence of an American leader eager to secure a place in history. This logic explains the ceremonious signing of the organization’s charter by the leaders of nineteen states at the World Economic Forum in Davos, as well as the announcement of the initiative’s chief architect as chairman of the Council. It was important for Trump to play the role of Zeus, abducting not Europe itself, but its agenda. As Politico aptly noted, Davos is no longer associated with Greta Thunberg or the #MeToo movement and has instead been transformed into a MAGA forum. In this respect, the White House can reasonably claim that the reorientation of the agenda has largely succeeded. The substantive dimension, however, presents far greater difficulties, primarily because Trump demonstratively ignores t...
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  Tectonic Realignment   The world is steadily returning to a logic of spheres of influence, in which the right to speak belongs only to those who possess real power and the willingness to use it. The United States, Russia, and China are dividing the planet in precisely this manner today, conducting a complex, multi-layered bargaining process across the entire perimeter from Taiwan to Venezuela and from Iran to the Arctic. The war in Ukraine continues. Talks about peace have dragged on for months, alternating between meetings in Davos, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, and long stretches of tense diplomatic silence. From the outside, the process may appear to have reached a classic impasse. The territorial stumbling block, Moscow’s demand for full control over the Donetsk region, looks insoluble. Zelenskiy refuses and hardens his rhetoric. The front, though with difficulty, is holding. The rear, despite blackouts, has not collapsed. As a result, a war of attri...
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Power Without Annexation Greenland as a Model for Arctic Politics Over the past several days, statements have again emerged from Washington to the effect that the United States “very much needs” Greenland. The tone this time is noticeably harsher than during the “purchase” episode of 2019. This is no longer an eccentric offer framed as a real estate transaction, nor a diplomatic probe. It is a return to an older American logic in which strategic territories are discussed not from the standpoint of law, but from the standpoint of power. In the twenty-first century, that power is increasingly presented indirectly, through references to strategy, security, and objective necessity. As a rule, such necessity appears in American foreign policy precisely at those points on the map where future bases and logistical routes are being outlined. Historically, the United States has resolved similar issues in much the same way, from the Louisiana Purchase to pressure surrounding the Panama Can...
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Exposure at Davos From Ally to Liability Zelenskiy’s trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos turned into a demonstrative failure that clarified rather than obscured the current position of Kiev within the Western system. According to The Financial Times , the United States and Ukraine failed to conclude several agreements that had been discussed in advance, and prepared documents were left unsigned. This outcome looked especially unfavorable given Zelenskiy’s visible efforts to press Donald Trump into reaffirming unconditional support for Ukraine. The absence of concrete results set the tone for everything that followed. Speaking in Davos after a brief meeting with Trump, Zelenskiy shifted from persuasion to accusation. He publicly reproached European states for cowardice, arguing that they prefer abstract discussions about the future while avoiding practical steps. He pointed to the refusal to confiscate Russian oil revenues, the reluctance to make real use of frozen assets, a...
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Sovereignty by Permission The comic escape from Greenland by the fifteen German soldiers who were supposedly headed there, and the ongoing economic forum in Davos, are phenomena of the same order. They are similar in nature, in character, and even in scale. In both cases, we are dealing with a continuing internal crisis among those who until quite recently felt perfectly comfortable deciding the fate of humanity. The political fuss around the Greenland issue or the discussions in Davos are merely stages on which the world observes this crisis. The sides behave with the same nervous bustle and lay claim to more than they deserve. The Americans are trying to bluff their allies across the ocean, pressing new threats onto the already badly shaken nerves of Berlin, Paris, and London. The Europeans, for their part, combine submissiveness with tactical bucking. The result is fairly comical. This is exactly how the maneuvers in Greenland look now, from which the German soldiers fled. This ...
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