Can Putin achieve his goals without an invasion of Ukraine?

+ Puerto Rico struggles; SCOTUS takes up regulations US Edition - Today's top story: Invading Ukraine may never have been Putin's aim – the threat alone could advance Russia's goals [View in browser]( US Edition | 17 February 2022 [The Conversation]( For more than three months, the potential for a Russian invasion of Ukraine has kept the world on edge. To little surprise, Russian President Vladimir Putin has downplayed the amassing of an estimated 150,000 troops on the Ukrainian border. Russian history scholar Ronald Suny from the University of Michigan asks a provocative question: What if an invasion was never Putin’s intention? “One interpretation,” Suny writes, “is that President Putin mobilized his soldiers and sailors primarily to force a [dialogue with the West over what the spheres of influence and interest in Eastern Europe should be](.” That question could not be more timely, given the decline of the Russian economy and the potential financial devastation promised by the U.S. and NATO from severe economic sanctions if Putin invades. In other stories, Arie Perliger, a professor of criminology and justice studies at UMass Lowell, looks at the [sharp rise in the U.S. of anti-Asian violence during the pandemic](. Howard Manly Race + Equity Editor What he wants. What he really, really wants? Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images [Invading Ukraine may never have been Putin’s aim – the threat alone could advance Russia’s goals]( Ronald Suny, University of Michigan A scholar of Russian history breaks down what Putin’s aim might be in threatening military invasion, and why that might backfire. A Puerto Rican man passes buildings for lease in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 16, 2017. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images [Puerto Rico has a plan to recover from bankruptcy — but the deal won’t ease people’s daily struggles]( Carlos A Suárez Carrasquillo, University of Florida Puerto Rico has reached an agreement to partially settle its historic bankruptcy crisis. But public cuts to education and health care are unlikely to ease, creating ongoing challenges for Puerto Ricans Coal piles outside of PacifiCorp’s Hunter power plant in Castle Dale, Utah. George Frey, AFP, via Getty Images [The Supreme Court could hamstring federal agencies’ regulatory power in a high-profile air pollution case]( Albert C. Lin, University of California, Davis West Virginia v. EPA could be the opportunity that conservative justices have been seeking to curb federal power. - [Anti-Asian violence spiked in the US during the pandemic, especially in blue-state cities]( Arie Perliger, UMass Lowell A new analysis of crime data shows that anti-Asian violence, targeting people of Asian descent and their property, rose sharply during the pandemic. - [Supreme Court’s ruling on Alabama voting map could open the door to a new Wild West of state redistricting]( Henry L. Chambers Jr., University of Richmond Alabama will be allowed to keep a congressional map that critics say disadvantages Black voters. That does not bode well for 2022 midterms, argues a law scholar. - [Appeal in Sarah Palin’s libel loss could set up Supreme Court test of decades-old media freedom rule]( Bill Kovarik, Radford University Under the Sullivan standard, a public official has to prove that there was ‘actual malice’ in defamation cases. That could be challenged in the Supreme Court. - [Old statues of Confederate generals are slowly disappearing – will monuments honoring people of color replace them?]( Frederick Gooding, Jr., Texas Christian University With a few notable exceptions, public monuments across the United States are overwhelmingly white and male. A movement is slowly growing to tell a more inclusive history of the American experience. - [What is the ‘social cost of carbon’? 2 energy experts explain after court ruling blocks Biden’s changes]( Jim Krane, Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University; Mark Finley, Rice University The social cost helps regulators factor in harm from climate change when they consider new rules and purchases, like buying electric- vs. gas-powered trucks for the Postal Service. - [Canadian trucker protests show how the loudest voices in the room distort democracy]( Matthew Jordan, Penn State; Sydney Forde, Penn State When an attention-based media system always allows the noise-makers to dominate the conversation, it becomes impossible to hear the full range of voices and views. - [How Russia hooked Europe on its oil and gas – and overcame US efforts to prevent energy dependence on Moscow]( Ryan Haddad, University of Maryland The Biden administration hopes the threat of harsh sanctions from a united West will deter Putin from invading Ukraine. But Russia has a long history of using energy to divide the US and Europe. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Weekly Highlights]( Enjoy reading The Conversation? Share us with your three closest friends: [Click here to share](mailto:Insert%20your%20friends%27%20emails?subject=Check%20out%20The%20Conversation&body=I%27ve%20been%20reading%20this%20fact-based%20news%20source,%20and%20definitely%20think%20you’d%20find%20it%20interesting%20as%20well.%20It%20has%20academic%20experts%20writing%20understandably%20about%20stories%20in%20the%20news,%20based%20on%20their%20research.%20I%20learn%20something%20new%20every%20time%20I%20read%20it.%0D%0DYou%20can%20check%20it%20out%20here:%20%0D [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](