Russia’s Sacred Land. To understand Crimea, we need an evolutionary theory of national honour. It’s irrational and deadly – but it works.

Turchin’s article in Aeon Magazine.

When Russia annexed Crimea in March, American policymakers were taken by surprise. They shouldn’t have been, argued the political theorist John J. Mearsheimer in a New York Times op-ed. After all: “Mr Putin’s behaviour is motivated by the same geopolitical considerations that influence all great powers, including the United States.”