Khalil Quoted in Morning Consult Piece on Invasion of Ukraine, Political Boosts in the West

March 3, 2022

Morning Consult

Osamah F. Khalil

History Department

International Relations Undergraduate Program

Middle Eastern Studies Program

NATO

Russia

Ukraine

Morning Consult

Osamah F. Khalil

While national leaders on a wartime footing often benefit from a surge of support from a unifying public that faces a common threat, Morning Consult trend data across NATO’s four largest economies shows that the so-called “rally around the flag” affect has mostly failed to materialize.

Osamah Khalil, associate professor of history, says that sanctions are appealing tools for politicians as they require little sacrifice, but also take a long time to show results and are rarely decisive as economies adapt to new realities. But pumping military equipment into Ukraine could cause the same cycle of escalation and radicalization that played out in Syria 11 years ago, he says. “As the invasion continues, there will be more bombing, more imagery of refugees, and the pressure on Western capitals to go beyond sanctions is going to increase. The question is, does the pressure increase for diplomacy or for greater amounts of military assistance to Ukraine?” Khalil says.

Read more in the Morning Consult article, "Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Brings Varying Political Boosts for Leaders of Western Response."