Institutional Affiliation

University of Crete

Start Date

16-1-2025 10:45 AM

End Date

16-1-2025 12:15 PM

Proposal Type

Presentation

Proposal Format

Virtual

Proposal Description

This paper examines the current Ukraine crisis that has deep geopolitical roots and often closely tied to the Euromaidan movement, outlining noticeable disagreements within the western academia regarding its interpretation by international relations theories and Russian history. On the one hand, institutional liberalists have been arguing that Russia’s aggression originates from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has selected Ukraine, on the basis of its strategic location in central Europe, to be the beginning of an effort to reconstruct a new Soviet Union or at least to create a new sphere of influence in Russia’s near borders, bond European security behind the bandwagon of Russia’s wealth of energy sources, and prevent NATO’s further expansion in Eastern Europe. On the other hand, superficially justifying Putin’s actions, theorists of offensive realism and liberal historians of the Soviet Union and Russia, have been countering that Russia’s behavior is a mere product of American expansionism provoking Russia’s similar attempt — to block this ‘encroachment’ on its sphere of influence and emerge as a hegemon. The paper uses both primary and secondary data analysis to unveil the true dimensions of the blame narrative, the ramifications of each approach, and the real roots of the crisis. The evidence shows that no side can claim the authenticity of political correctness, unless we can answer the composite query: “When exactly did the Ukraine crisis begin and who in reality propagated the Euromaidan movement?” i.e., when and whether the movement sprung out domestically and spontaneously or it was ‘engineered’ by the west.

Keywords: Ukraine crisis, Conflict resolution, Geopolitics, Defensive Realism, Soviet history

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Jan 16th, 10:45 AM Jan 16th, 12:15 PM

The Ukraine Crisis Narrative in Western Scholarship

This paper examines the current Ukraine crisis that has deep geopolitical roots and often closely tied to the Euromaidan movement, outlining noticeable disagreements within the western academia regarding its interpretation by international relations theories and Russian history. On the one hand, institutional liberalists have been arguing that Russia’s aggression originates from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has selected Ukraine, on the basis of its strategic location in central Europe, to be the beginning of an effort to reconstruct a new Soviet Union or at least to create a new sphere of influence in Russia’s near borders, bond European security behind the bandwagon of Russia’s wealth of energy sources, and prevent NATO’s further expansion in Eastern Europe. On the other hand, superficially justifying Putin’s actions, theorists of offensive realism and liberal historians of the Soviet Union and Russia, have been countering that Russia’s behavior is a mere product of American expansionism provoking Russia’s similar attempt — to block this ‘encroachment’ on its sphere of influence and emerge as a hegemon. The paper uses both primary and secondary data analysis to unveil the true dimensions of the blame narrative, the ramifications of each approach, and the real roots of the crisis. The evidence shows that no side can claim the authenticity of political correctness, unless we can answer the composite query: “When exactly did the Ukraine crisis begin and who in reality propagated the Euromaidan movement?” i.e., when and whether the movement sprung out domestically and spontaneously or it was ‘engineered’ by the west.

Keywords: Ukraine crisis, Conflict resolution, Geopolitics, Defensive Realism, Soviet history