Nuclear Precipice: Ukraine, Russia, and patterns of U.S. Hegemony

What is the background of the ethnic conflict in Ukraine? Can the Ukraine situation lead to a Russia/U.S. confrontation involving nuclear weapons? According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the world is again at a precipice with threats of nuclear war.

Moderated and introduction by Greg Albo. Presentations by:

• Halyna Mokrushyna: “The self-fulfilling prophecy of two Ukraines: The East-West cultural and political split in Ukraine since 1991.” Halyna Mokrushyna is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in sociology at the
  University of Ottawa and is a part-time professor. Her doctoral project deals with the memory of Stalinist purges in Ukraine. She holds a doctorate in linguistics and MA degree in communication. Her academic interests include: transitional justice; collective memory; ethnic studies; dissent movement in Ukraine; history of Ukraine; sociological thought.
• Sergei Plekhanov: “Russia and the West: Back to Cold War?” Born in Moscow, Russia, Dr. Plekhanov holds a B.A. and M.A. in International Relations from Moscow State Institute of International Relations and a Ph.D. in History from Institute for the Study of the USA and Canada, Academy of Sciences of
  the USSR. Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science, York University; Director of the South and Central Asia Project at the York Centre for Asian Research; Senior Associate of the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, University of Toronto. Prof. Plekhanov has published widely on issues of post-communist transformations in Russia, Russian foreign policy, U.S.-Russian relations, and American politics. He is serving as Secretary of the Canadian Pugwash Group, an NGO advocating nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
• Judy Deutsch: “Patterns of U.S. Hegemony.” Judy Deutsch majored in history at UCLA, is a psychoanalyst, is a columnist for Canadian Dimension magazine, and was president of Science for Peace (2008-2012). She works on many issues including climate justice, nuclear weapons and militarization, and ending Israeli apartheid. [Text available on CounterPunch.org website.]

The forum was sponsored by: Centre for Social Justice and Socialist Project. Recorded in Toronto, 12 June 2015.