International Relations
International Relations
The crisis in Ukraine was caused by the government’s rejection of the EU policy, which promoted stronger ties between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine citizens wished that they would be integrated in the European Union (Myers, 2014). However, when the government rejected this policy, their hopes for integration vanished. The government led by President Yanakovych rejected the bill, which would enable Ukraine join the European Union. The crisis also revolve around the Ukrainian president whom citizens claim has ruled the country for long. The crisis has led to civil unrest with many protests taking place in Kiev. A number of people have lost their lives during these protests, which has caused more civil unrest in major towns in Ukraine. This paper focuses on the crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s involvement. The paper utilizes three theories of international relations in examining and describing the crisis while highlighting the history of Ukraine to ascertain whether history repeats itself.
Realism: The Ukraine government believes that the policy to integrate Ukraine into the European Union is not a move by the European Union, by other interested parties (Myers, 2014). In realism, governments view other governments with shared interests. Realists believe that international organizations such as the European Union in this case, do not act alone. In this case, the government of Ukraine believes that other parties in the union influenced the decision of Ukraine to join EU in pursuit of national interests. According to realists, no central authority governs international unions. Countries with vested strategic interests control and influence the decision making process in international organizations. The eastern and western regions of Ukraine have different political interests. The West has interests in joining the European Union while the east has interests in working with Russia. The Ukrainian government believes that no single international organization can govern how states relate with each other. The government believes that the national issues, which affect Ukraine, will still exist even when they join the Union. In a realism point of view, Ukraine wants to safeguard its wealth including the Crimea peninsula. Therefore, the government, in pursuit of safeguarding national interests turned down the offer the idea of joining the European Union. This is in consideration that the move essentially benefited other states instead of the Ukraine government.
Constructivism: Russia’s involvement in the crisis involves the intended annexation of Crimea. Russia has openly stated its interests in gaining control over the eastern part of Ukraine especially the Crimea peninsula. The idea of Russia taking control over Crimea poses a threat for Ukraine. Therefore, part of Ukraine feels that joining the European Union will provide a solution to threats from Russia. When Ukraine joins the union, it will receive protection from the union soldiers. This means Russia finds it difficult to assume control over part of Ukraine. Therefore, Ukraine’s interests in joining the European Union lie in receiving protection. Joining the union Ukraine will receive border protection and this are the interests of the citizens of Ukraine. In a constructivist’s point of view, these ideas from Russia to annex part of Ukraine and make it Russian territory may develop into reality. Constructivists believe that nations have the power to develop mere ideas into reality (Weber, 2001). Therefore, Ukraine may have a solution in joining the union.
Liberalists in Ukraine fail to understand why their government did not accept the policy to join the union. Liberalists advocate for state preferences rather instead of state capabilities. The preferences for Ukraine citizens were to join the European Union not only for border protection but also for other social advantages. Liberalists believe that when states join to form unions it provides more advantages than states that work alone (Weber, 2001). Therefore, Ukraine would have achieved their national goals after joining the union. In a liberalist point of view, the formation of unions such as European Union is not just for political gains. Ukraine stands to gain from the union at an economic level, and the citizens too stand to gain at an individual level. Liberalists believe that countries are interdependent, and they can take advantage of their diversity through the formation of unions. Ukraine has similar interests as Poland and Germany. However, Ukraine can only achieve its interests by joining the union in order to work together with these countries.
The social theory suggests that in order to achieve social order force and coercion must be used. The troupes in Ukraine have moved in from different nations in order to restore peace and order. The military troupes represent the use of force in order to prevent Russia from annexing part of Ukraine (Weber, 2001). In addition, the involvement of police to stop the protests in Kiev and other major towns in Ukraine shows the use of force in this civil unrest. To restore peace and social order in Ukraine, the government sent more police to the cities. The government understands that, in time of crisis, social disorder takes place. Therefore, they have increased the number of police in order to bring back social peace.
The Russian federation should reject the move by Crimea to secede from Ukraine. The current crises in the country have arisen due to the idea of secession (Conant, 2014). If the Russian federation supports the move by Crimea, the move will result in continued civil unrest. The decision for a part of any country to secede should involve all stakeholders. In this case, the eastern and western regions of Ukraine should come to a consensus whether to secede or not. The Russian federation has great importance in the decision making process because they understand the issue. Russia’s involvement in the issue is not only based on geographical interests but also social cultural interests. The larger population in Crimea originated from Russia then migrated into Ukraine. Therefore, the interests to secede appear as interests to return to their homeland. In order to restore social order in Ukraine Russia should not incite the secession campaigns by Crimea.
In the case of the Ukraine crisis, history has repeated itself. The composition of the Ukrainian population shows that a majority of the citizens migrated from Russia. The Crimea region has experienced similar conflicts in the mid 1990’s. Majority of the citizens living in Ukraine show loyalty to Moscow as opposed to other interest centers (Bojcun, 2001). The crisis has a historical background from the international relations in the region. For a long time, the eastern region in Ukraine has been having different opinions and interests with the western region. This indicates that the crisis has occurred due to an existing issue, affirming that history has repeated itself.
References
Bojcun, M. (2001). Russia, Ukraine and European integration. Florence: European University Institute, Dept. of History and Civilization.
Conant, E. (2014, February 24). Behind the Headlines: History and Geography Help Explain Ukraine Crisis. National Geographic. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140224-ukraine-protests-president-ousted-history-geography-background/
Myers, S. (2014, March 7). For First Time, Kremlin Signals It Is Prepared to Annex Crimea. The New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/world/europe/ukraine.html?_r=0
Weber, C. (2001). International relations theory: a critical introduction. London: Routledge.
