The book offers a detailed analysis on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A book needs to be written on this to make sense, from a theoretical perspective, why this invasion has occurred and what the main actors are pursuing. The originality rests on testing main international relations theories: realism, liberalism and constructivism to the war that emerges with the practices and approaches during the Cold War to date from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Soviet Union (and now Russia) and Ukraine. The monograph commences with a historical overview of NATO and how it has engaged in expansionism policy to further contain Russia in contemporary international affairs with the accession of additional former Soviet states. This helps to explain the current Russian invasion of Ukraine that would attract great readership. The main argument presented rests on the pursuance of realist interests by NATO, Ukraine and Russia for containment, national security interests and as a response to the security dilemma respectively. This has served as the main catalyst of this conflict that has made diplomacy, international law and collective security measures problematic to implement.
Author(s): Danny Singh
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 270
City: London
Preface
Contents
About the Author
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
References
2 Main International Relations Theories
An Explanation of Realism
Political/Classical Realism
Neorealism: Offensive and Defensive Realists
Realist Ethics
Justification and Summary of Realism
An Explanation of Liberalism
Democratic Peace Theory and Cosmopolitanism
Neoliberalism, Regime Theory and Institutional Liberalism
The Responsibility to Protect
Summary of Liberalism
Constructivism: An Alternative Explanation
Conventional Constructivism
National Interest and US Exceptionalism
Norms, Language and Social Constructs
An Alternative of Realist Assumptions of the Security Dilemma
Summary of Constructivism
Contributions of International Relations Theory
References
3 NATO During the Cold War and Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Formation of NATO
The Counterbalancing Warsaw Pact
The Economic and Political Demise of the Soviet Union
NATO’s Expansionism and Containment of Russia
References
4 Ukrainian Desire for Political Autonomy and NATO Accession
Orange Revolution
NATO Membership Action Plan and National Security Strategy
Western Support for Ukraine
United States Motives of the War
Russian Opposition Towards American and NATO Interventionism
References
5 Russian Responses, the Invasion, Sanctions and International Law
Russian Retaliation
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: February 2022
Just War Debate
International Condemnation of the Invasion and Western Sanctions
International Law Efforts
References
6 Conclusion
References
Bibliography
Index
