Sam Olsen
@samolsen.bsky.social
Author at States of Play Substack and geopolitical nerd https://samolsen.substack.com
Also samholsen.org
Also samholsen.org
The real enemy for Putin isn’t Ukraine alone.
It’s the system that protects Ukraine: NATO, the EU, and the wider rules-based order. Break those, and Russia can dictate terms again.
It’s the system that protects Ukraine: NATO, the EU, and the wider rules-based order. Break those, and Russia can dictate terms again.
August 16, 2025 at 2:53 PM
The real enemy for Putin isn’t Ukraine alone.
It’s the system that protects Ukraine: NATO, the EU, and the wider rules-based order. Break those, and Russia can dictate terms again.
It’s the system that protects Ukraine: NATO, the EU, and the wider rules-based order. Break those, and Russia can dictate terms again.
That’s why Trump’s peace gamble was doomed.
Putin doesn’t want compromise. He wants legitimacy restored: Russia elevated as an imperial great power, Ukraine reduced to a province, and the post-Cold War order dismantled.
Putin doesn’t want compromise. He wants legitimacy restored: Russia elevated as an imperial great power, Ukraine reduced to a province, and the post-Cold War order dismantled.
August 16, 2025 at 2:53 PM
That’s why Trump’s peace gamble was doomed.
Putin doesn’t want compromise. He wants legitimacy restored: Russia elevated as an imperial great power, Ukraine reduced to a province, and the post-Cold War order dismantled.
Putin doesn’t want compromise. He wants legitimacy restored: Russia elevated as an imperial great power, Ukraine reduced to a province, and the post-Cold War order dismantled.
Trump met Putin in Alaska to “end the war.”
But Putin isn’t playing today’s game. He’s playing the game of 1914 — empire, spheres of influence, and small nations treated as objects, not subjects. 🧵
But Putin isn’t playing today’s game. He’s playing the game of 1914 — empire, spheres of influence, and small nations treated as objects, not subjects. 🧵
August 16, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Trump met Putin in Alaska to “end the war.”
But Putin isn’t playing today’s game. He’s playing the game of 1914 — empire, spheres of influence, and small nations treated as objects, not subjects. 🧵
But Putin isn’t playing today’s game. He’s playing the game of 1914 — empire, spheres of influence, and small nations treated as objects, not subjects. 🧵
Episode 1 of States of Play drops tomorrow, asking what a world order actually is open.substack.com/pub/samolsen...
June 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Episode 1 of States of Play drops tomorrow, asking what a world order actually is open.substack.com/pub/samolsen...