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Russia's War in Ukraine: a Watershed for Europe

Casier, Tom (2022) Russia's War in Ukraine: a Watershed for Europe. Nação e Defesa, 162 . pp. 71-89. ISSN 0870-757X. E-ISSN 2183-9662. (KAR id:97008)

Abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marks a watershed. First, it signifies the return in Europe of large-scale interstate war, aimed at territorial expansion. Second, it indicates a radical shift in Russia’s strategy, from destabilising Ukraine through relatively limited means to massive military coercion. Third, it seals the end of the post Cold War security order, whose deep crisis made it ineffective to prevent the conflict. Fourth, the war reinforced the transatlantic front, thus aggravating Russia’s security concerns. The war cannot be explained as the result of an escalation of tensions with the West, as there is too much of a disconnect and disproportionality between Moscow’s voiced security concerns and its war objectives. It is vital to understand domestic factors: the Kremlin’s perception of the ‘loss’ of Ukraine, in a blend of geopolitical and identity-based thinking, and the gradual escalation of its Ukraine strategy, because of consecutively failing scenarios.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled keywords: Ukraine; War; Russia; West; Security; Identity
Subjects: J Political Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Funders: University of Kent (https://ror.org/00xkeyj56)
Depositing User: Tom Casier
Date Deposited: 20 Sep 2022 15:11 UTC
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2022 11:58 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/97008 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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