Dec. 20, Anthony Colangelo, Professor of Law at the SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law, for a piece explaining why the U.S. has a legal right to intervene in Ukraine should Russia decide to invade. Published in History News Network under the heading ‘The U.S. Can Legally Intervene in the Ukraine Should Russia Invade’: https://bit.ly/3msrL5n , and subsequently in The Hill Jan. 27, 2022: https://bit.ly/3AOSEGt
Recent signs suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seriously considering invading Ukraine. To help prevent this from happening, the United States has two options: the soft option and the hard option.
The soft option involves diplomatic measures such as increased sanctions and trade punishments like cutting off financial markets. Generally, countries prefer utilizing this option to foster de-escalation for the simple reason that it is cheaper and minimizes civilian death and suffering. But there is a chronological component here: There must be enough time for the measures to work, and if there is not, countries may be forced to pursue the hard option.
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