Misperception and Reality
Fred Eidlin is a Professor of Political Science. He was on the faculty of the University of Guelph (Canada) for 38 years, and currently lectures at Charles University and the University of Life Sciences in Prague, and at several universities in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Latvia. He is interested in foundational problems of the social sciences, especially where inquiry runs into difficulties, and in political developments in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. DESCRIPTION: Many mistakes result from faulty assumptions and faulty perception. Such mistakes can sometimes be avoided by paying more attention to what is taken for granted. This is true, not only for ordinary people in their everyday lives, but also for governmental decision making, and even the advanced natural sciences. I have always been fascinated by such mistakes, and dogmatic adherence to flawed beliefs, even at the heights of government and in the advanced natural sciences. The study of Russia and other post-Soviet republics is fraught with misperception and flawed assumptions.
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What makes the foolishness of US Russia policy so mind boggling is that there have been so many serious warnings. US policy took its Russophobic turn despite powerful warnings from many of our most respected experts. Said George Kennan, architect of…
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/d%C3%A9tente-plus-how-should-west-deal-russia “Leslie Gelb speaks for much of the US foreign policy establishment, writes Walter Laquer, “when he says that ... ‘It is…
Comment on Brian Whitmore's RFE/RL podcast, “The Daily Vertical: Return Of The Russian World> http://www.rferl.org/content/daily-vertical-return-of-russian-world/27340254.html Not much understanding of Russkiy Mir or its role in…
Dear Amar, http://www.indiandefencereview.com/... Your article fleshes out several aspects of the Syria crisis of which I was not much aware. I'm tired of the simplistic one- and two-dimensional explanations that we get from…
On October 14, the White House dismissed a proposal by President Putin to send Prime Minister Medvedev to the United States to discuss military cooperation in Syria. White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the proposal a sign of "desperation."…
Political parties are alleged to provide their electorates with choice. Cynics might object that, while elections give an electorate the feeling that they have choice, this is only an illusion. Soviet propagandists used to like to point out that the…
Of course, I understand what you write about the sorry state of affairs in Russia. I am far more optimistic than you about Russia, but can't disagree with most of what you say. Most discouraging is that I wonder what can feed the hopes of…
If I were a Russian citizen, I would be somewhat troubled by recent Russian legislation requiring foreign-funded Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to register as foreign agents. However, as a social scientist I see the Universe unfolding as…
Many observers, both inside and outside Russia, view recent legislation requiring foreign-funded NGOs to register as foreign agents as a roll-back of democracy and civil society. President Putin has responded saying that the legislation was…
Ukraine's Increasing Polarization and the Western Challenge, by Eugene Chausovsky 11 March 2014 http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/ukraines-increasing-polarization-and-western-challenge#axzz38mfJD9Bl George Friedman, The United States Has Unfinished…
Disappearance of Polarity: “Polarity” has long served as a useful explanatory framework in the study of international politics. The analogy to physical magnetism represents a system of states pulled or pushed into alliances…
An important prior question needs to be addressed before arriving at the question of whether democracy should have the same meaning in every country. We need to ask what is meant by "democracy?" If taken seriously, as meaning "rule by the people,"…
Poll conducted
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In your opinion, what are the US long-term goals for Russia?
U.S. wants to establish partnership relations with Russia on condition that it meets the U.S. requirements 33 (31%) U.S. wants to deter Russia’s military and political activity 30 (28%) U.S. wants to dissolve Russia 24 (22%) U.S. wants to establish alliance relations with Russia under the US conditions to rival China 21 (19%)
