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European Security 06: State Perspectives on Russia’s War in Ukraine – Roundtable 1
Time:
Monday, 02/Sept/2024:
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Session Chair: Maxine David
Presentations
State Perspectives on Russia’s War in Ukraine – Roundtable 1
Chair(s): Maxine David (Leiden University)
Presenter(s): Helen Drake (Loughborough University London), José Joel Peña Llanes (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Tereza Novotná (Free University Berlin), Niels van Willigen (Leiden University), Tomas Weiss (Charles University), Marcin Zubek (Jagiellonian University in Krakow)
In the background of Russia’s war on Ukraine and its aggressive and intensive escalation in February 2022, the EU and other western states were widely united and vociferous in their condemnation of Russia’s unprovoked aggression. Support for Ukraine and sanctions instituted against Russia have largely been respected among western states but other states have shown a good deal more reluctance to support Ukraine materially or to punish Russia. Both inaccurately and unhelpfully, the US President, Joe Biden, has spoken of the world splitting between democratic and authoritarian states, but it is the case that the limits of Western influence have become clearer. Historical legacies have cast long shadows and multilateral instincts been retreated from, as debates within the UN and the actions of many among the global souths have revealed. Even among EU states, there are identifiable differences and divisions that suggest difficult times ahead for those EU institutions more concerned with achieving consensus and unity of views among the member states. This is especially so in the context of new candidate states. Between a major inter-state war and an eventual peace to be negotiated between two large states in Europe, sovereignty and its associated defined territories are firmly back at the top of the political agenda. At the same time, the EU continues its parallel path of breaking down the borders – physical and ideational – among its member states and still cleaves hard to its multilateral reflexes.
In the first of two roundtables on this same theme, panellists will consider different state positions on Russia’s war on Ukraine and what this says about the “international community” and/or the nature of the international system. After setting out the perspectives of the states covered, conversation across the panels and audience will move to questions about what conclusions or preliminary ideas we can draw regarding European and international relations: What has the war revealed in terms of who has voice in that “international community”? Who has won ground and who has lost? Do we need to rethink our ideas of what kind of power matters? What kind of nomenclature is appropriate for describing the world today? Is multilateralism dead? Has the door now been closed on the American Century? Where now for the EU?
