THE GEOPOLITICAL FORUM - The World on Its Own Terms

Join us for a talk with Hanna Notte, director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, on her new book We Shall Outlast Them: Putin's Global Campaign to Defeat the West. The conversation will be moderated by Maria Lipman, who served as the Roberta Buffett Visiting Professor of International Studies in fall 2026.

In 2022, Vladimir Putin commanded Russian forces to invade Ukraine, producing a rupture with the United States and Europe the world has not seen since the Cold War. In addition to unleashing immense losses on the Ukrainian people, the war turned into a long battle of wills in which Russia refocused its entire state machinery to achieve one purpose: Outlast the West, at any cost necessary.

Russia foreign policy analyst Hanna Notte tells a story that has long been obscured: that the Kremlin is waging a war not only on Ukraine, but over global order. Blending critical analysis with reportage from over a dozen countries, Notte's We Shall Outlast Them takes readers on a panoramic journey through this new era of statecraft, with its successes and its failures. From the comedy of Russia’s antics at the United Nations to the melodrama of its outrageous nuclear threats, Notte renders an astonishing portrait of a newly outward-facing Russia. With sensitivity and depth, she shows why the country enjoys enduring appeal among some people around the world while casting a dark shadow onto others.

Putin is the one pulling the strings, but he is not the only player. Propagandists, diplomats, businessmen, and rogue agents have done his bidding: They have outmaneuvered sanctions, forged surprising alliances, and charmed the Global South. From civilian shelters to military bases, presidential palaces to tense borderlands, Notte chronicles the untold stories of those waging Russia’s battles—but also of everyday people swept up in Putin’s agenda. Whether from activists, refugees, or whistleblowers, these stunning accounts lay bare the true toll of Russia’s power games.

Timely, gripping, and rich, We Shall Outlast Them profiles a relentlessly adaptive global Russia and offers a searing warning about the future it seeks to create.

Lunch will be served at 12:15 p.m..

This event is hosted by the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. We from the Geopolitical Forum can continue the conversation and hang out past 1:45, the scheduled end time of the event, perhaps over a coffee.

Please also RSVP here to help us find one another at the event.