The Russian invasion of Ukraine brings more clearly into focus the multi-polar world be now inhabit, following decades of bipolarity between the then Soviet Union and the United States. During that time everything was seen though the lens of this superpower conflict, and while there were non-aligned countries, almost every conflict was grounded in this stifling duality. It was a kind of war by proxy in which Moscow and Washington vied for interest.

Opportunities arose after the fall of the USSR to establish a new security order in the world. But the West chose to consolidate NATO and Russia took the cheap road to a new autocracy. This is where we are today. Nothing justifies the invasion of a sovereign state but there is much that can explain it.