Joshua Shifrinson

Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Maryland

Joshua Shifrinson is an expert on contemporary international security, his research engages broad issues of great power politics, U.S. foreign policy, and diplomatic history. Recent projects include a re-examination of the sources and consequences of NATO enlargement, U.S. policy toward Russia and China, and the evolution of American grand strategy during and after the Cold War.

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American interests in the Ukraine war
American interests in the Ukraine war

Policymakers have poorly defined U.S. strategic interests in the Russia-Ukraine War, and those interests that have been defined do not stand up to scrutiny. Actual U.S. interests in Ukraine are essentially negative: preventing further escalation or spillover of the conflict and limiting a wholesale collapse in U.S.-Russian relations. The limited, core interests the U.S. does have in Ukraine suggest that Washington should try to convince Ukraine and Russia to accept a negotiated settlement.