In this remarkable episode of Kianistan, host Kiani welcomes Dr. Alexander Rahr, German political scientist, historian, and former adviser to the German Foreign Ministry.
With decades of experience in East-West diplomacy, Dr. Rahr offers what may be the most balanced assessment yet of the Ukraine conflict — examining NATO expansion, Russian motives, Western strategic errors, and the global shift toward multipolarity.

From Soviet Collapse to NATO Expansion

Dr. Rahr begins by tracing the roots of the crisis to 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved and Russia was left excluded from the new European security framework.
Instead of integrating Moscow, the West built Europe around two pillars – NATO and the EU – and left Russia out.
This “strategic mistake,” Rahr argues, created the seeds of confrontation as NATO expanded eastward toward Russia’s borders.

Russia, too weak to resist in the 1990s, watched passively until NATO began discussing membership for Georgia and Ukraine — former imperial lands deeply tied to Russian culture.
According to Dr. Rahr, Moscow’s warnings were ignored, and the West’s refusal to accommodate Russian security concerns became a “mother of all miscalculations.”

Imperial Ambition or Defensive Reaction?

Dr. Rahr rejects simplistic narratives.
Yes, Russia remains a quasi-imperial power, proud of its civilizational role, but he insists it is not trying to conquer Europe.
Its ambitions are regional – to unify Eastern Slavs (Russia, Belarus, and parts of eastern Ukraine) into a shared cultural-political space.
Western fears that Putin wants to march to Warsaw, he says, are “completely unfounded.”

From Moscow’s perspective, the 2022 invasion was a defensive act to stop NATO’s encroachment — though Rahr condemns the war itself as a grave mistake by Putin.

Ukraine’s Identity Crisis

Ukraine’s tragedy, Dr. Rahr explains, began at its birth in 1991.
A country split between nationalist Western Ukrainians and Russian-speaking Eastern Ukrainians, it lacked a cohesive identity.
Instead of forming a federal model granting regional autonomy, Kyiv centralized power and ignored cultural realities.
This, combined with Western encouragement to join NATO, drove the final wedge that led to war.

The Role of the West and Lost Opportunities

Rahr laments that after the Cold War, the West treated Russia as a defeated power rather than a potential partner.
The 1990s could have been a period of reconciliation; instead, Washington and Brussels chose triumphalism.
He notes that Angela Merkel, shaped by her East German background, uniquely understood Russian sensitivities and helped avert war in 2014, but her successors “forgot the language of diplomacy.”

Now, a generation raised without Cold-War memory views Russia only through ideological hostility — a mindset that prevents pragmatic engagement.

Media Narratives and Propaganda

Dr. Rahr is sharply critical of Western media for oversimplifying the war.
He points out the contradiction in portraying Russia as both “on the verge of collapse” and simultaneously “an existential threat to Europe.”
Such one-dimensional coverage, he warns, fuels polarization and blinds societies to complex geopolitical realities.

Trump, Diplomacy, and the Search for Peace

Discussing U.S. politics, Rahr argues that Donald Trump’s approach to Ukraine is driven not by ideology but by pragmatism — the desire to “make America great again” by avoiding unwinnable wars.
Trump, he says, recognizes Russia as a great power whose interests must be respected, even while seeking to end the war swiftly.
A potential peace, he suggests, might resemble a new Minsk III – a ceasefire that halts bloodshed and freezes territorial lines.

A Coming Multipolar World

The conversation broadens beyond Europe.
Rahr foresees a geopolitical realignment more dramatic than 1989 – 1991:

  • America focusing on Asia to contain China.

  • Russia deepening ties with China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

  • Europe caught between its U.S. alliance and the economic magnetism of Eurasia.

“We are entering,” Rahr concludes, “a world without rules – a multipolar system where power, not ideology, defines order.”

Conclusion: Between War and Dialogue

Episode 43 reminds us that the Ukraine conflict cannot be reduced to heroes and villains.
It is a story of missed opportunities, security anxieties, and historical trauma that demands empathy on all sides.
Dr. Rahr’s call is clear: Europe must re-embrace diplomacy, or risk repeating the darkest chapters of its past.

Watch on YouTube

🎥 Watch the full discussion with Dr. Alexander Rahr on Kianistan’s official YouTube channel:

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