"...the economic and military dimensions are deeply intertwined.." this is the problem as i see it... wars are profitable in the short term.. blowing up nordstream has worked for the usa and continues to work for the usa... it hasn't worked for germany, but it appears germanys slavish devotion to the usa hasn't been altered here in spite of this.. if germany is ever able to express an independent stance the game usa is playing with nato will come to an end... that will have huge economic consequences... germany can't be allowed to form any type of relationship with russia, or the usa directly suffers.. the conflict in ukraine is very much about maintaining usa hegemony.. they started it and they continue to sustain it.. too bad the germans in particular are unable or unwilling to acknowledge this... nato has been hugely successful in looking after the usa's self interests...
It would be interesting to know what forces Lolaev believes shape *Russian* policy. Is there a "deep state" operating there? If so, what are its components and how do they balance off against one another in shaping Russian security policy? Are those components subject to "institutional inertia" in the same way as the alleged U.S. components?
I raise these questions because I think the concept of "deep state" is dubious, at best. It pushes people in the direction of conspiratorial thinking and away from realist analysis of inter-imperialist rivalries.
"...the economic and military dimensions are deeply intertwined.." this is the problem as i see it... wars are profitable in the short term.. blowing up nordstream has worked for the usa and continues to work for the usa... it hasn't worked for germany, but it appears germanys slavish devotion to the usa hasn't been altered here in spite of this.. if germany is ever able to express an independent stance the game usa is playing with nato will come to an end... that will have huge economic consequences... germany can't be allowed to form any type of relationship with russia, or the usa directly suffers.. the conflict in ukraine is very much about maintaining usa hegemony.. they started it and they continue to sustain it.. too bad the germans in particular are unable or unwilling to acknowledge this... nato has been hugely successful in looking after the usa's self interests...
It would be interesting to know what forces Lolaev believes shape *Russian* policy. Is there a "deep state" operating there? If so, what are its components and how do they balance off against one another in shaping Russian security policy? Are those components subject to "institutional inertia" in the same way as the alleged U.S. components?
I raise these questions because I think the concept of "deep state" is dubious, at best. It pushes people in the direction of conspiratorial thinking and away from realist analysis of inter-imperialist rivalries.
That's an interesting point, I'd like to know more about that as well :)