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You may have been wondering about the "those were Russia's nukes"-argument going around concerning the Budapest Memorandum. 1/
You may have said to yourself: If those were Russia's nukes, then Russia acknowledges Ukraine as a different country to itself thus defeating the arguement that Ukraine is actually a part of Russia. 2/
This is completely feasible obviously, and it establishes that Ukraine was an occupied state.
But there is a particularly abusive rhetorical figure at play which explains the apparent logical anomaly. It's fallacious, but it's very real - and deeply embedded in colonial thinking. 3/
The rhetorical figure plays out like this.
Ukraine is a different country to Russia to the extent that this is to the advantage of Russia.
If that is not the case, then Ukraine is no longer a different country, but a part of Russia.
But only so long as it it to the advantage of Russia. If that is not the case then it is again a different country. 4/
So when Russia wants to invade, then Ukraine is Russia. But when there are nukes to be had, then Ukraine is not a part of Russia but a different country obliged to "hand back" "Russia's" nukes. 5/
It's a merry-go-round and there's always only one winner: Russia. And always by default, never by consistency of argument.
Don't ever let abusers tell you who you are. 6/
Edit: Oh, I forget, a lot of this is Timothy Snyder, not me. He actually knows stuff.
@SuneAuken Did you see that he, Marcia Shore and Jason Stanley are leaving Yale and moving to Canada?
Oh yes. I so did. There will be many more to follow, and not just to Canada.
This is the game changer European universites have needed. US soft power (which is anything but soft) in research is circling the drain as we speak.
@SuneAuken @mok0 we need more open positions. Lots of them. Someone should start offering 5y visiting scholarships.
@SuneAuken @mok0 I’ve been saying it to everyone in research and universities I’ve met since January. Most thought I was nuts in the beginning but are paying attention now. So let’s hope someone does something.
@SuneAuken Well it’s a big step for Snyder and Shore because they have school age kids.
I didn't know that. It is indeed an even bigger step for them then. Makes the gravity of the situation even more obvious.
@SuneAuken @mok0 maybe also an easier decision to make; who knows what their kids are like and how that complies with stricter interpretations of normality.