Federalist No. 4 - “absolute monarchs”

by John Jay

The same Subject continued

Today marks one year since the illegal and unwarranted full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Putin’s “peacekeeping” has of course done just the opposite:  thousands of Ukrainian civilians have died and Russian military forces have met a fierce and determined Ukrainian resistance.  Instead of a tidy “special military operation,” frustrated Russian forces have resorted to indiscriminately attacking civilian infrastructure, forcibly deporting Ukrainian children, and involuntarily Russifying portions of Ukraine. 

In sum, the war has been nothing short of abject horror.  A year in, I find myself asking why?  Why would Putin do this to the Ukrainian people?  Why would he risk his own legacy for such a venture?  Why did he think the 2014 annexation of Crimea was insufficient?  And why does Putin continue to commit military forces to the Ukrainian quagmire in spite of their many failures so far?

This week I found a helpful answer to the ‘why’ question in a surprising place—the Federalist papers, specifically in Federalist No. 4.

Read the rest this Sunday’s Omaha-World Herald.