We witness the horror.

As I write this on the day I give my last lecture of the quarter, there is a lot at stake in this battle for democratic rule in Ukraine.

Just to the east, the madman bears down on a campaign of intimidation and terror he has inflicted on the Ukrainian people. His own people — from soldiers to members of the Russian parliament, to ordinary citizens — have protested his actions, but his control of all the mechanisms of government and his ability to suppress dissent have created a climate in which, though NATO and its allies are inflicting sanctions and freezing assets, they are hoping not to set him off even further.

What incentive would cause Putin to pull back, to save face? Are we at the start of a new Cold War? What role will China play in this face-off? What else can be done?