Anne Applebaum

And those are the institutions they want to destroy. And of course, it's very dangerous because, you know, there have been many, I don't want to claim that the last 70 or 80 years have been perfect by any means, but the fact that the U.S., Europe, so many other countries have been able to invest so much in welfare, in scientific research.

in increasing prosperity of their nations as opposed to spending 20 or 30 or 40% of their national budgets on the military. This has been the blessing of the post-war world. This is one of the reasons we've had so much prosperity. If we return to a world in which might makes right and everybody needs a huge army, then we're going to be living on a very different kind of planet.

in increasing prosperity of their nations as opposed to spending 20 or 30 or 40% of their national budgets on the military. This has been the blessing of the post-war world. This is one of the reasons we've had so much prosperity. If we return to a world in which might makes right and everybody needs a huge army, then we're going to be living on a very different kind of planet.

in increasing prosperity of their nations as opposed to spending 20 or 30 or 40% of their national budgets on the military. This has been the blessing of the post-war world. This is one of the reasons we've had so much prosperity. If we return to a world in which might makes right and everybody needs a huge army, then we're going to be living on a very different kind of planet.

But that is what the Russians want. And increasingly, it seems that it may even be what the Chinese want.

But that is what the Russians want. And increasingly, it seems that it may even be what the Chinese want.

But that is what the Russians want. And increasingly, it seems that it may even be what the Chinese want.

Sure. NATO is a defensive alliance. It was created to react to attacks on its members. That has been its role since it was created decades ago. NATO doesn't invade other countries. NATO doesn't have plans to do so, and it doesn't talk about doing so. NATO actually, after the end of the Cold War, reduced its military spending dramatically. And there was one moment in which there were no U.S.

Sure. NATO is a defensive alliance. It was created to react to attacks on its members. That has been its role since it was created decades ago. NATO doesn't invade other countries. NATO doesn't have plans to do so, and it doesn't talk about doing so. NATO actually, after the end of the Cold War, reduced its military spending dramatically. And there was one moment in which there were no U.S.

Sure. NATO is a defensive alliance. It was created to react to attacks on its members. That has been its role since it was created decades ago. NATO doesn't invade other countries. NATO doesn't have plans to do so, and it doesn't talk about doing so. NATO actually, after the end of the Cold War, reduced its military spending dramatically. And there was one moment in which there were no U.S.

tanks in Europe. You know, so the U.S. withdrew enormous forces from Europe. The Europeans reduced their armies. NATO almost began to dissolve. I mean, if you look at kind of the late 90s, early 2000s, a lot of conversations. You can go back and read the op-eds. People are saying, do we still need NATO and so on. But it existed as a kind of shell, just in case.

tanks in Europe. You know, so the U.S. withdrew enormous forces from Europe. The Europeans reduced their armies. NATO almost began to dissolve. I mean, if you look at kind of the late 90s, early 2000s, a lot of conversations. You can go back and read the op-eds. People are saying, do we still need NATO and so on. But it existed as a kind of shell, just in case.

tanks in Europe. You know, so the U.S. withdrew enormous forces from Europe. The Europeans reduced their armies. NATO almost began to dissolve. I mean, if you look at kind of the late 90s, early 2000s, a lot of conversations. You can go back and read the op-eds. People are saying, do we still need NATO and so on. But it existed as a kind of shell, just in case.

The return of NATO spending and the return of expansion of NATO, because Sweden and Finland have recently joined NATO, is happening because of the perception of Russian threat.

The return of NATO spending and the return of expansion of NATO, because Sweden and Finland have recently joined NATO, is happening because of the perception of Russian threat.

The return of NATO spending and the return of expansion of NATO, because Sweden and Finland have recently joined NATO, is happening because of the perception of Russian threat.

So as the Russians began to change their posture, as the Russians began to express an interest in aggression, in invading other countries, invading Ukraine, they invaded Georgia, they threatened Estonia, they've threatened everybody, they've threatened the British, they've threatened the Germans.

So as the Russians began to change their posture, as the Russians began to express an interest in aggression, in invading other countries, invading Ukraine, they invaded Georgia, they threatened Estonia, they've threatened everybody, they've threatened the British, they've threatened the Germans.

So as the Russians began to change their posture, as the Russians began to express an interest in aggression, in invading other countries, invading Ukraine, they invaded Georgia, they threatened Estonia, they've threatened everybody, they've threatened the British, they've threatened the Germans.

As they began to do that in a more regular and a more believable way, everybody began to say, right, we need to think once again about self-defense. And of course, the invasion of Ukraine was a triggering point where people saw that Putin was prepared for a very large scale war. He was prepared for civilian atrocities, for the destruction of infrastructure, all of those things.