It’s all or nothing now: The war in Ukraine as a Geopolitical Conflict of Global Dimension

Eastblog article by Dr. Hannes Meissner, Dr. Johannes Leitner and Dr. Elkhan Nuriyev

The war in Ukraine is a geopolitical conflict of global dimension, as Putin is determined to change the global balance of power and transform Russia into a world power. It is a proxy confrontation, essentially between Russia and the USA. Increasingly, the global fault lines are becoming apparent along the axis of Russia, China, Iran and their allies on the one hand, and the U.S., Europe and their partners on the other.

In spite of Ukraine’s recent war successes, it is unlikely that Putin’s Russia will give in before the actual goals are achieved: The reintegration of Ukraine into Russia's sphere of influence and the recognition of Russia as a world power by the United States, through acceptance that the post-Soviet space is Russia’s geopolitical zone of interest and the assurance of associated security guarantees. However, the current constellation is a non-win situation. The initiation of talks with Russia would be a painful step for the U.S. and the Western community of states, which would not only be associated with a massive loss of face. It would rather be the admission that the Western-dominated, treaty-based world order, which has had unipolar features since the 1990s, finally belongs to the past.

Dr. Hannes Meissner, Dr. Johannes Leitner, and Dr. Elkhan Nuriyev analyze the motives and goals behind the war in Ukraine. The article was published by the platform Eastblog and the Austrian daily newspaper "Der Standard". Please follow the link to the full article (in German).