Stephen M. Walt: “Supporting the war means supporting the destruction of Ukraine”

The moral case for supporting peace

Stephen M. Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University, has published a very insightful piece in Foreign Policy in which he makes the moral case for peace. Here are some excerpts from the article:

What is the morally preferable course of action in Ukraine? At first glance, it seems obvious. Ukraine is the victim of an illegal war, its territory is occupied, its citizens have suffered mightily at the hands of the invader, and its adversary is an autocratic regime with any number of unsavory qualities. Strategic calculations aside, surely the proper moral course is to back Ukraine to the hilt.

What’s missing in this view, however, is an acknowledgement that the morality of a given policy also depends on the potential costs of different courses of action and the likelihoods of success of each one.

If we are talking about human lives, we must look beyond abstract principles and consider the real-world consequences of different choices. It’s not enough to proclaim that the good guys must win; one must also think seriously about what it will cost to produce that outcome and whether it can in fact be achieved. Although there is no way to be 100-percent certain about either the likely costs or the probability of success, refusing even to consider these features is an abdication of moral responsibility.

The moral case for pursuing peace — even if the prospects are unlikely and the results are not what we’d prefer — lies in recognizing that the war is destroying the country and that the longer it lasts the more extensive and enduring the damage will be. Unfortunately for Ukraine, anyone who points this out and offers a serious alternative is likely to be loudly and harshly condemned and almost certain to be ignored by the relevant political leaders.

I wish hardliners would acknowledge that their uncompromising approach to the war could do more harm to Ukraine in the long run. Not because that is what hardliners want, but because that is what their policy recommendations may produce.

Given that many of these same people [who rejected all earlier warnings about where their policies might lead in Ukraine] are among the loudest voices calling to continue the war, raise the stakes, and increase Western support, one is entitled to wonder whether their advice will do as much harm to Ukraine today as it did in the past.

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Thomas Fazi

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