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Sometimes, compromise and diplomacy are a wonderful thing. But sometimes, there is no real compromise and the can just gets kicked down the road with what feels

Sometimes, compromise and diplomacy are a wonderful thing. But sometimes, there is no real compromise and the can just gets kicked down the road with what feels like compromise but really is just festering. I’ve seen many a historian posit that the 3/5 compromise was a compromise that ultimately germinated the civil war. They kicked the can down the road til its very rotten contents spilled over. Part of me wonders if we’re not approaching that moment with Russia on the world stage. This sense of aggravation has been going on since Stalin, and while the 90s were a nice respite, it honestly just begins to feel like there is no win win compromise between Russia and the western world. Maybe this is just the heat of the moment talking, and this’ll just be another uncomfortable “border skirmish” in a year from now. Anxiously frustrated and angry. Some of my favorite programmer friends are ex pat Russians. They have great culture, art, science.

woodpanel 5y ago
Russia is the last colonial empire and as such under constant threat of disintegration by the spread of outside political ideologies like ethno-nationalism, liberal democracy or communism (whose introduction by Germany did a pretty "big number" on Russia until Communist Russia eventually faced the same geostrategic power struggle the Tsarist Empire faced). So when speaking of "aggrevation" always factor in the perspective of the "Empire". PS: The concept of buffer countries as a peace keeper has been helpful in the past (e.g. Belgium kinda, Austria). I guess Ukraine's role will have to be that of such a buffer.
- travisgriggs 5y ago
  Is a buffer state a lasting peace though? In any mechanical system, if your design is “lets give one part of the system all the stress” but said component is not proportionately strengthened or incentivized, it fails eventually, bringing the rest of the system down with it.
  - woodpanel 5y ago
    Well it's a starting point at least (see Austria or Belgium). You would then have to build more peace-keeping infra on top of it (see EU). Which highlights why it was an error to de-buffer Ukraine (also the CIS states surrounding Russia serve more or less this role, although "vassal" would be more appropriate). Speaking of a mecanical system: In the hiearchy of sovereignity, apart from US, RU and CN all countries are somewhat buffers.

woodpanel 5y ago

Russia is the last colonial empire and as such under constant threat of disintegration by the spread of outside political ideologies like ethno-nationalism, liberal democracy or communism (whose introduction by Germany did a pretty "big number" on Russia until Communist Russia eventually faced the same geostrategic power struggle the Tsarist Empire faced). So when speaking of "aggrevation" always factor in the perspective of the "Empire". PS: The concept of buffer countries as a peace keeper has been helpful in the past (e.g. Belgium kinda, Austria). I guess Ukraine's role will have to be that of such a buffer.

travisgriggs 5y ago
Is a buffer state a lasting peace though? In any mechanical system, if your design is “lets give one part of the system all the stress” but said component is not proportionately strengthened or incentivized, it fails eventually, bringing the rest of the system down with it.
- woodpanel 5y ago
  Well it's a starting point at least (see Austria or Belgium). You would then have to build more peace-keeping infra on top of it (see EU). Which highlights why it was an error to de-buffer Ukraine (also the CIS states surrounding Russia serve more or less this role, although "vassal" would be more appropriate). Speaking of a mecanical system: In the hiearchy of sovereignity, apart from US, RU and CN all countries are somewhat buffers.