Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Russia’s longstanding conflict with Ukraine shows little sign of abating. The undeclared war in eastern Ukraine claims new victims every month. In a recent escalation of the Russian pressure on Ukraine, the residents of the two rebel held “republics” have been granted a three-month track to obtain Russian passports. Officials and academics on both sides of this crisis blame their opponents. Can we evaluate the truth of these claims? This study takes stock of the arguments in the existing scholarly debate, including the concepts of power, hybrid warfare, political technology, realism, Marxism, liberalism, rational choice, and theories of domestic politics as well as analysis of individual leaders; identifies the main problems with obtaining reliable data; and concludes with an analysis of methodological challenges facing IR scholars and policymakers working on this momentous global conflict.