Russia & Ukraine
The current crisis in Ukraine is a good case study for international relations. The primary actors are Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union. In brief, Ukraine has been splitting politically since independence from the U.S.S.R. along ethnic lines. Ukrainians, still seeking for solidify their national identity, are pro-West in their outlook; Russians are pro-Russia in outlook. This schism has defined the country's politics since independence, and has placed the country as the center of a power conflict in Europe between the Cold War powers -- Russia on one side and the West on the other. The West expanded its sphere of influence dramatically when Russia was weak upon dissolution of the U.S.S.R., but Russia has recently gained strength, in particular the result of tremendous wealth from natural resources. Russia has especially strong bargaining power over Europe as many European nations are major buyers of Russian natural gas (Jakes & Burns, 2014). For its part, the United States wishes to contain the Russian sphere of influence in Europe, but has no motivation for armed conflict, which would be politically unpalatable. The current crisis began with the overthrow of the pro-Russian leader by Ukrainian nationalists (Baczynska, Polityuk & Kasolowsky, 2014). Russia seized on the pretext of protecting Russian people to seize control of the Crimean Peninsula -- home to Russia's largest naval base -- but the violence and unrest are continuing, with Russian agitators in the East and the threat of further territorial annexation by Russia (Fedesenko, 2014; AP, 2014). For all the hype over the crisis and cries for action from many different corners, the actions of the respective key players make perfect sense when distilled through the lens of international relations theory.
Realism
Realism is a view of international relations that "stresses its competitive and conflictual side" (Korab-Karpowicz, 2013).
This is the view that best describes the traditional approaches by two of the main actors -- Russia and the United States. The competition and conflict in Ukraine simply...
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