Principal speaker
Professor Deborah Welch Larson
Professor Deborah Welch Larson from the University of California will be presenting a public lecture, "Great Power Status Competition and Russia's War in Ukraine"
Putin is fighting a war against Ukraine to restore Russia's status as a global great power. His speeches are filled with anger against the West for denying Russia its proper place in the world. Putin's invasion of Ukraine is motivated by long-standing grievances against the United States for denying Russia a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and for excluding it from the leading European clubs. Xi Jinping supports Putin and declares that the world is undergoing changes unseen in the last 100 years and the two of them are making those changes together. Xi Jinping's assertiveness in the South China Sea and BRI are part of China's attempt to attain a dominant position in East Asia in the face of declining US power. Both states are working to undermine the rule-based world order and to create a multipolar system where each great power would have a sphere of influence. While both are trying to compete with the United States their means differ, because the two powers have varying time frames and capabilities. Because of its weak economy, Russia relies on military force, while China uses its economic power. Both China and Russia believe that the West is trying to prevent them from achieving the great power status to which they are entitled.
Event categories
RSVP
RSVP on or before Wednesday 18 October 2023 16.06 pm, via https://events.griffith.edu.au/Znvk2L