Brezhnev’s and Donroe doctrines, and playing the aggressor in digital strategy games Interview with Dr Ivan Sablin
In the 15th episode of “The Aggressor” project interviews, project coordinator Dr Ivan Sablin discusses the aims and progress of this interdisciplinary research network, which focuses on the concept of the individual aggressor. Using Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev as an example, the historian explains why he can be viewed as an aggressive decision-maker, and draws unexpected parallels between the Soviet history and the recent foreign policy endeavours of the current US President Donald Trump, namely capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and threatening the NATO ally Denmark over Greenland.
Ultimately, Dr Sablin explores the great promises that digital strategy games offer for researching popular understandings of military aggressions. Grounded in the common imagery of the past, video games can reveal a great deal about the logic of war that is strangely recognisable to observers of current global affairs.