Musings on the Ukraine

I’m in more or less complete agreement with Matthew Yglesias on the Ukraine issue. The interests and ideological convictions of the United States dovetail nicely in Eastern Europe. It is good to favor a transparent, reliable electoral process in the Ukraine both because democracy is good and because such an outcome will be favorable to the United States. Moreover, the one doesn’t necessarily pollute the other, and it really doesn’t matter which motive is more important to US action in this case.

So, if the United States is supporting the opposition in Serbia, the Ukraine, Georgia, or wherever else, great! If the opposition wins, even better. Skepticism about US motives shouldn’t detract from the celebration of positive outcomes. The alternative isn’t some sort of “natural” democratic process; it’s power in the hands of autocrats who themselves are supported by an increasingly autocratic Russia. There’s really no way that I can see to come up with a leftist justification of that outcome.