Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned into a quagmire, defying initial expectations. Although Russian forces appear set to launch a new offensive this spring, they will face a Ukrainian army — bolstered by aid from the United States and Europe — that has already scored several key successes in the fight to roll back the invaders. Barring a breakthrough on the frontlines, Vladimir Putin’s invasion looks like it will join the post-1945 world’s long litany of failed wars of conquest.

Yet Russian military setbacks contrast with the situation on the diplomatic front, where Putin’s invasion has shed light on the growing isolation of Ukraine’s NATO partners. Key nations in the Global South refuse to follow the Western bloc into a confrontation with Moscow, whether through economic sanctions, military aid to Kyiv, or by supporting UN resolutions condemning the invasion.

The war thus looks like an example of what Bertrand Badie, one of the foremost French experts on global politics, calls the “powerlessness of power.” Emeritus professor of international relations at Sciences Po, Badie has pinpointed the growing inability of military means to achieve political ends, as social forces emerge as the dominant factor in international relations. This argument contradicts the common interpretation of the Russia-Ukraine war as heralding a revival of power politics. But the critique is an important one, as the Left struggles to cope with the hard challenges posed by rising geopolitical conflict.