Hare Comments on Ukraine and the Prospect of Nuclear War

Ambassador Paul Hare, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed for a New York Times article exploring Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent nuclear escalation and how the prospect of a nuclear exchange might shape the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine. 

The article, titled “Putin Is Brandishing the Nuclear Option. How Serious Is the Threat,” features comments from leading experts on the meaning of Putin’s order for “special combat readiness” and whether it brings about the realistic prospect of nuclear war. In his comments, Hare rejected this notion noting that Putin’s real goal is to “swallow Ukraine” and restore the historical power of imperial Russia — not to instigate a nuclear exchange.

The full article can be read on The New York Times‘ website.

Ambassador Paul Hare was a British diplomat for 30 years and the British ambassador to Cuba from 2001-04. He now teaches classes at Boston University on Diplomatic Practice, Arms Control, Intercultural Communication, and on Cuba in Transition. His novel, “Moncada — A Cuban Story,” set in modern Cuba, was published in 2010. His book, “Making Diplomacy Work; Intelligent Innovation for the Modern World” was published in 2015. Learn more about Professor Hare on his faculty profile.