Ukraine's Unnamed War
Before the Russian Invasion of 2022

A concise account of the roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, describing how the 2013–14 intra-Ukrainian political clashes were exploited by Russia.

Dominique Arel (Author), Jesse Driscoll (Author)

9781009055949, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 5 January 2023

320 pages, 7 b/w illus. 6 maps 3 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.43 kg

'In the heat of the devastating war in Ukraine, Arel and Driscoll have given us a cool and courageous account of the complex and fraught prehistory of Putin's invasion. Their argument is the most compelling account of how a civil war in a divided country turned into a hot war between two neighbouring states.' Ronald Grigor Suny, William H. Sewell, Jr. Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of History and Emeritus Professor of Political Science, The University of Michigan, and Emeritus Professor of Political Science and History, The University of Chicago

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has its roots in the events of 2013–2014. Russia cynically termed the seditionist conflict in Crimea and Eastern Donbas a 'civil war' in order to claim non-involvement. This flies in the face of evidence, but the authors argue that the social science literature on civil wars can be used help understand why no political solution was found between 2015 and 2022. The book explains how Russia, after seizing Crimea, was reacting to events it could not control and sent troops only to areas of Ukraine where it knew it would face little resistance (Eastern Donbas). Kremlin decisionmakers misunderstood the attachment of the Russian-speaking population to the Ukrainian state and also failed to anticipate that their intervention would transform Ukraine into a more cohesively 'Ukrainian' polity. Drawing on Ukrainian documentary sources, this concise book explains these important developments to a non-specialist readership.

1. A civil war within the 'Russian World'
2. A theory of civil war onset in post-soviet Eurasia
3. Before Maidan
4. Regime change (Maidan)
5. Irredentist annexation (Crimea)
6. The Russian spring (East Ukraine)
7. The war and Russian intervention (Donbas)
8. A frozen conflict thaws.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]