Ukraine (thread 1), Episode 11: Nicholas Murray Butler and the Realpolitik of Ukraine

This episode revisits thinkers from America’s imperial era and focuses on Nicholas Murray Butler, a champion of elite guidance, order, and disciplined statecraft.

It explains how Butler’s skepticism of mass politics and moralizing rhetoric would shape a realist response to the Russia-Ukraine war: sustained military and economic support, coordinated allied action through institutions like NATO, avoidance of maximalist aims or regime change, and attention to the broader global balance with China and other revisionist powers.