Putin’s Misperceptions about Waging War on Ukraine

Over the past weeks, many people volunteered their theories to me on why Russian president Vladimir Putin waged a war of choice on his neighbor Ukraine. The explanations range from he is terminally ill to he is totally irrational, or completely insane. Although he is clearly without a conscious and willing to inflict vast suffering on a vast amount of people, both Russian and Ukrainian, his actions mirror those of many authoritarian leaders before him. Putin’s war of choice is the result of misperceptions about his adversary’s capabilities and power as well as misperceptions about his own strengths and power.