In conversation with talk show host Tucker Carlson, prominent international relations scholar John Mearsheimer discusses the current state of the Ukraine war and broader U.S. foreign policy challenges. Mearsheimer argues that Russia is winning the war in Ukraine and that the situation is hopeless for Ukrainian forces due to the imbalance in weaponry and manpower. He contends that neither Ukraine nor the West is willing to accept Russia's three main demands for a settlement: Ukrainian neutrality (no NATO membership), significant demilitarization of Ukraine, and recognition of Russian annexation of Crimea and four eastern oblasts. According to Mearsheimer, this means the war will be settled on the battlefield with a Russian victory, creating a "frozen conflict" well into the future.
The conversation also covers Mearsheimer's critique of U.S. foreign policy more broadly, particularly regarding NATO expansion, the relationship with China, and Middle East policy. He argues that NATO expansion eastward, especially toward Ukraine, was the "taproot" of the current conflict and compares it to America's Monroe Doctrine - suggesting that Russia has legitimate security concerns about Western military assets on its border. Mearsheimer also discusses how U.S. engagement policies helped create China as a peer competitor.
Perhaps most dramatically, Mearsheimer discusses at length what he sees as the outsized influence of the Israel lobby on American foreign policy, arguing that U.S. support for Israel often conflicts with American national interests, particularly regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza — which he emphatically characterizes as genocide.
Watch other provocative interviews HERE on Prof. Mearsheimer's Substack
