I’d prefer you respond to my arguments instead of rehashing what’s already been discussed. Or we could just stop here.
I’m attempting to align so that we can move our discussion forward. I’m just going to assume that you agree with the following statement.
The Ukrainian government is more accountable to it’s population than the Russian government.
Both democracies and authoritarian regimes have drafts. The difference is that democracies can not continue an unpopular draft because the government will be voted out.
The more accountable a government is to their population, the less that government can afford to enact unpopular policies.
You seem hung up on the fact that Ukraine has a draft. What’s actually important is, does Ukraine have a draft that is supported by the population? If lots of drafted individuals become casualties then the Ukrainian government risks losing the support of the population and being replaced.
This is less of an issue for authoritarian regimes. That is my point and that is a major reason the Ukrainian government values it’s manpower more than the Russian government, there are larger consequences for casualties.
You’re asking questions we have answers to and you seem to have totally missed some key facts.
Ukraine is under martial law and has been since the invasion. There are no elections, they’ve been cancelled due to the needs of the state. There is no concern of the government being replaced.
Ukraine isn’t a proper democracy but a “hybrid”, e.g an oligarchy anyways. The popularity or unpopularity of policies doesn’t translate into political outcomes so easily or transparently.
But your argument about authiritarian regimes is faulty. We just saw the complete opposite of that in Syria. Authoritarian regimes do not necessarily command loyalty and they also live in constant fear of popular unrest or dissatisfaction. In fact, there are many analysts who point to Putin’s current domestic policy choices as desparate attempts to placate the Russians that have lost something due to the war.
Again, you’re strawmaning. I never argued that Ukraine is a “proper democracy”.
My argument is and continues to be that the Ukrainian government is more accountable to it’s population than the Russian government. Therefore the Ukrainian government must value the opinions of the Ukrainian population more than the Russian government values the opinions of the Russian population.
You’re argument about Syria is a red herring fallacy. I never argued that authoritarian regimes are immune to their population’s opinions. I’ve been arguing that the more authoritarian a government, the less accountable the government to their population.
At this point, I think you are either incapable of logical reasoning or arguing in bad faith.
