Now in its fourth year, the war in Ukraine has already had sweeping effects on European security policy and the relationship between Brussels, Kyiv, Washington and Moscow, not to mention the devastating human and material cost for Ukraine itself. The geopolitical shockwave it unleashed will continue to reverberate for years, if not decades to come. 

But what about the transformations it has unleashed within the affected societies themselves? 

In Ukraine, a growing crisis of legitimacy has led to a situation in which the state struggles to mobilize willing combatants to sustain the war effort. In Russia, despite the lack of support for the war itself, harsh repressions, military Keynesianism and the rise of everyday patriotism have helped to consolidate Putin’s regime. Meanwhile, protectionism, nationalism, and illiberalism are gaining traction globally — not only in the US under a renewed Trump administration, but also through deeper structural shifts in countries like Turkey and Hungary.   

How viable are these trends? Could they be seen as offering a durable, albeit authoritarian alternative to neoliberal capitalism? Could military Keynesianism become the dominant macroeconomic strategy even in the European Union itself?  

Join the Center for Independent Social Research, the Alameda Institute, and Jacobin Magazine on Thursday, 26 June at 18:00 for a lively and insightful discussion featuring:   

Wolfgang Streeck

Anton Jäger

Viktoria Myznikova

Volodymyr Ishchenko

Oleg Zhuravlev