With Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv, the war in Ukraine has continued to make headlines. The Trump administration recently announced it would support a draft bill to impose heavy financial penalties on purchasers of Russian oil, in an effort to increase economic pressure on Russia and bring an end to the war, which has lasted more than four years.
To discuss how the war is shaping U.S. foreign policy, NATO, and the global economy, UW political science professor Mark Copelovitch will join the UW Now Live on July 14, 2026.
Copelovitch is a political science and public affairs professor at the UW and the director of the Center for European Studies. He’s currently the president of the European Union Studies Association, and he was recently a Berlin Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin. His work focuses on international political economy and international relations, with an emphasis on the political economy of international finance, international organizations, and the politics of economic shocks and financial crises. Copelovitch also studies European politics and the European Union, including the Eurozone and the EU’s role in the global economy.
With the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, a rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, and continued struggle in the Middle East, a few key hot spots are shaping the news. To unpack what’s happening beyond the headlines, why it matters, and what could come next, Copelovitch will join the UW Now Live, along with professor pathobiological sciences professor Peter Halfmann ’00, PhD’08 and political science professor Jon Pevehouse.
My Chief Area of Expertise Is:
I’m an expert in international political economy, international organizations, and the European Union.
On the UW Now Live, I’ll Talk About:
I’m going to talk about the ongoing war in Ukraine and what it means for European security, U.S. foreign policy, NATO and transatlantic relations, and the global economy.
If There’s One Thing Viewers Will Take Away, It’s:
U.S. policy toward NATO, Europe, and Russia and Ukraine have raised very serious questions about the future of American foreign policy and Europe’s future defense policies. There are reasons for both pessimism and optimism about the war itself and about the future of transatlantic relations.
To Get Smart Fast, See:
I read the Financial Times every day. I think it provides the best coverage of world affairs and the global economy of any newspaper in the English-speaking world. The BBC and the New York Times also offer excellent coverage.
I regularly read the German press to keep up with European political and economic news. Der Spiegel and Deutsche Welle are very good. I think it is extremely useful for Americans to not only read U.S. media coverage, but to read some foreign press to get a sense of how the rest of the world views the same news.
