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Valerie Morkevičius Profile picture
Valerie Morkevičius
@vmorkevicius
Assoc Prof Political Science @ColgateUniv. Phd from @UChicago. Author of Realist Ethics. #Security & #infowar from a just war perspective. Personal views only.
Mar 29 • 13 tweets • 8 min read
The declaration by the World Russian People's Council (led by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow) that #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine is a "Holy War" is disturbing and deserves our attention. /1 via @pravda_engpravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/… The declaration is an order "addressed to the legislative and executive authorities of Russia."

An interesting note: the World Russian People's Council refers to Russian in ethnic terms, not the adjective used for the (multi-ethnic) Russian state. /2

patriarchia.ru/db/text/611618…

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Dec 12, 2022 • 25 tweets • 9 min read
Michael Walzer has been a major influence on me, but in this case, I think he's wrong: soldiers fighting for #Russia in its unjust war against #Ukraine are indeed guilty of the injustice of the war they fight. /1

foreignpolicy.com/2022/12/04/rus… Let's start with how Walzer & I arrive at such different conclusions. Here, he calls himself a "classical" just war theorist, but it's worth noting that his groundbreaking 1977 book draws its insights primarily from international law, philosophy, literature, & moral intuition./2
Oct 13, 2022 • 24 tweets • 8 min read
It is certainly important to think carefully about the risks of escalation (including the potential for Russian nuclear use against Ukraine and the spread of Russia's war beyond the borders of Ukraine).

But Shapiro's argument here cedes too much to the Kremlin's perspective. /1 To ask questions about the risk of Russian nuclear use is a strategic & a moral imperative. There is good reason to believe that the Kremlin's calculus about is quite different from the US' & that it might be much less reluctant to use nuclear weapons./2

heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handl… Image
Oct 11, 2022 • 15 tweets • 5 min read
I'd go even further.

There's a deep cynicism about war crimes committed by US service personnel that leads to a dismissal of any war crimes committed by Russian forces. "How can Russia be criticized for doing what the US does," they ask. /1 Of course, this is often nothing more than classic whataboutism, an attempt to deflect from legitimate criticism of one state's bad behavior by pointing to allegedly similar behavior on the part of the US.

(And oh my, is there a lot of that here on Twitter!)

/2
Aug 24, 2022 • 18 tweets • 9 min read
Let’s translate @mfa_russia’s doublespeak.

“Thanks to the Soviet-German non-aggression pact, the independent countries of central and eastern Europe were divvied up between the two powers, & hundreds of thousands of lives were lost or destroyed.” /1 In its effort to portray the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact as just another neutrality pact among many others in Europe at the time, Russia’s MFA deliberately manipulates history by “forgetting” to mention the treaty’s secret protocols. /2

encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/art…
Aug 4, 2022 • 55 tweets • 11 min read
Having written a book on ethics & realism myself, I feel obliged to counter Anton Lieven’s problematic account of what “ethical realism” requires in response to #Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine. /1

I see three major shortcomings with Lieven’s argument.

1) For a piece on “ethical realism,” very little explicit discussion of ethics can be found here. What ethical commitments does Lieven hold? What ethical commitments does he believe the US should uphold? /2
May 5, 2022 • 47 tweets • 22 min read
The argument (from both the left & the right, & from both secular & religious perspectives) that the ethical thing to do is to pressure Ukraine to make peace sooner rather than later, and to eschew military aid for humanitarian aid has been getting a lot of attention lately. /1 I believe most people making this argument do so in good faith, reflecting strongly held commitments to pacifism or nonviolence. But as someone who works within the just war tradition, I think many iterations of this argument get a few things wrong. /2
Feb 20, 2022 • 36 tweets • 11 min read
As someone whose research focuses on the just war traditions, I think it’s worth stating – firmly – that a reasonable argument cannot be made to justify a Russian invasion of #Ukraine. /1 Within the Christian just war tradition, there are 6 principles to consider, not as checkboxes to be ticked, but as concerns to be weighed against one another.

These include legitimate authority, just cause, right intent, proportionality, likelihood of success & last resort. /2
Feb 18, 2022 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Compare this to the #Kremlin's refusal to even cooperate with the OSCE Vienna Document process.

Transparency is a way of reducing tensions, by making one's intentions clear. /1 #Ukraine's leaders have reiterated that they have no plans to advance into Russian-backed separatist territory, and have ordered their forces to exercise restraint in responding to fire from Russian-controlled territory. /2

wsj.com/articles/ukrai…
Feb 18, 2022 • 19 tweets • 8 min read
Today as the #Kremlin's #disinformation cycle goes into overdrive, it's worth remembering that while the volume is louder, the pattern is familiar.

The stories don't need to be credible or logical. Their purpose isn't to convince. Their aim is to sow doubt & confusion. /1 Confusion & doubt make it hard for audiences to know what is true, leading to paralysis.

They can make collective action difficult, by sowing dissension & distrust between partners. /2

files.ethz.ch/isn/194545/Bri…

research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/portalfiles…

semperfidelis.ro/e107_files/pub…
Feb 15, 2022 • 12 tweets • 8 min read
The #Kremlin signals with one hand that it’s interested in diplomacy — and perhaps it is — but with the other it’s continuing to ratchet up the pressure on #Ukraine, through political maneuvering, #disinformation operations, and #cyber attacks. /1 Today the Duma voted to ask #Putin to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as independent states. If Putin does so, the Minsk peace agreements would be effectively made void. /2

english.pravda.ru/news/russia/15…
Feb 15, 2022 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
@peterpomeranzev’s choice of words here is excellent. The old slogan, “For Your Freedom and Ours” is meaningful not just in #Lithuania, but in the region more broadly.

And it captures an important point for today’s situation: freedom, like security, is indivisible. /1 An old thread about the origins of the phrase, and some of its implications… /2
Feb 14, 2022 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
It seems the lower house of the Duma will consider two draft proposals on Tuesday— one calling directly in Putin to recognize Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics and a second one asking Putin to consult with the Defense and Foreign Ministries first. /1

themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/14/rus… The first proposal was brought forward by the Communist party and the Just Russia party, which together hold under 20% of the seats in the lower Duma.

The second was brought by Putin’s United Russia party, which holds the vast majority of the seats. /2

csis.org/analysis/will-…
Feb 13, 2022 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
This is an important question.

#Ukraine is already paying the cost of the #Kremlin’s threatened invasion. /1 As of February 14, reinsurers will no longer cover commercial airlines flying into or over Ukraine, essentially creating a civilian no-fly zone.

The effects on business travel, tourism, and ordinary life are obvious. /2

kyivindependent.com/national/ukrai…
Feb 12, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
It seems that the #Kremlin doesn’t appreciate the free press covering the unilateral and unusually large build up of Russian forces along the borders of #Ukraine.

But news you don’t like or don’t want to have reported isn’t inherently “fake news.” /1 This isn’t to say there isn’t room for improvement (oops, Bloomberg!), not that some of the headlines have been worded in sensationalist, clickbait-y ways. /2

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Feb 12, 2022 • 5 tweets • 4 min read
Interesting— #Lukashenko’s messaging is out of synch with #Putin’s.

The #Kremlin says that Russian forces are in #Belarus for joint exercises— but Lukashenko denies this in his response to the OSCE. /1

tass.com/defense/1389595 The #Kremlin has repeatedly asserted its right to carry out joint exercises in #Belarus as part of Allied Resolve 2022, and #Lukshenko was also describe by it as an exercise back in January. /2

sb.by/en/joint-russi…
Feb 12, 2022 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
#Lithuania’s President makes a good point: deterrence requires making aggression against #Ukraine too costly.

The usual ways of communicating high costs have been discussed elsewhere by really smart people (prepare sanctions, send military aid, etc.)/1

lrp.lt/en/news/the-pr… One tool used to construct deterrence is sometimes called a “trip wire.” The logic is that a small force, too small to really defend itself or anyone else, could be deployed abroad to demonstrate commitment by being prepared to die. /2
Feb 12, 2022 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Specifically, using #Afghanistan’s foreign reserves in this way is unjust.

That the funds shouldn’t go straight into the hands of the Taliban goes without saying. But they should absolutely be used or held only for the benefit of the Afghan people. /1 Yes, Taliban rule over Afghanistan was a permissive condition for the terrorism of 9/11. A different set of leaders might have had the will and the capability to prevent al Qaeda from setting up shop in their state. /2
Feb 11, 2022 • 14 tweets • 7 min read
Under the auspices of the #OSCE Vienna Document, #Ukraine has officially asked #Russia to provide information about its military exercises near Ukraine's borders. /1

osce.org/fsc/74528 On February 9, #Estonia, #Latvia, and #Lithuania did the same regarding joint exercises between #Russia and #Belarus taking place now in Belarus. /2

Nov 7, 2021 • 27 tweets • 10 min read
There is no doubt that the manufactured migrant crisis along Belarus’ border with Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland is a deliberate political tactic aimed at punishing these states for their critique of #Lukashenko’s authoritarianism and at sowing division between EU states. /1 Lukashenko has made getting a visa to enter #Belarus easier, made getting a flight to Minsk easier, and used the military to make crossing the border to the EU easier, too.

But I want to talk about the ethical dimensions. /2

bbc.com/news/world-589…

infomigrants.net/en/post/36063/…