CHICAGO — Russia President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a warning that world democracy has gotten “flabby and confused and feckless” at a time of growing boldness and misguided support for authoritarianism, former President Barack Obama told a Chicago audience Wednesday.
“Putin represented a very particular reaction to the ideals of democracy but also globalization, the collision of cultures, the ability to harness anger and resentment around an ethno-nationalist mythology,” Obama said.
“What we’re seeing is the consequences of that kind of toxic mix in the hands of an autocratic government that doesn’t have a lot of checks and balances,” he said.
