The Russian-Ukrainian War through the Prism of Contemporary Critical Theories of International Relations

Abstract

The modern Russian-Ukrainian war is considered through the so-called postulates of varieties of the modern (critical, non-classical) theory of international relations: constructivism, feminism, postcolonialism, neo-Gramscianism. It is emphasized that this conflict is considered by the representatives of all the above-mentioned concepts of international relations. Among them, this conflict is most successfully and widely covered by representatives of constructivism, while representatives of other areas of critical theory cover this war less actively, in particular, compared to its analysis by representatives of classical concepts of international relations. At the same time, the older generation of constructivist scientists considers the conflict in eastern Ukraine as a proxy war between Russia and the West. Instead, this conflict is viewed as the Russian-Ukrainian war by the youngest generation of constructivists who are just engaged in science (D. Esmati, M. Rossi). Neo-Marxism, in particular, neo-Gramscianism, feminism, and postcolonialism in these conditions play an exclusively supporting role in the analysis of this conflict, interpreting some of its aspects. In particular, feminism draws attention to the main victims of this war (women and displaced persons). Neo-Marxism views the significance of this conflict for relations between Russia as a semi-peripheral state and Western states as a collective global hegemon. In turn, postcolonialism emphasizes that the prehistory and modern context of the Russian-Ukrainian war are largely due to the West’s ignored post-imperial nature of Russia-Ukraine relations and the corresponding worldview of its elite toward Ukraine and Ukrainians. However, it cannot be ruled out that updating the descriptive and explanatory tools of these three non-classical scientific concepts will allow them to more effectively analyze the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict, its preconditions, and causes, and thus better predict its dynamics and consequences.