In all human history, war has been integral part the of societal relations.In fact, war is seen as a juncture where nations fate are forged as either victorious or vanquish. This means that war is inevitable in human dealing and as such efforts should done to mitigate and adapt to it so that in an event it occurs, it becomes less destructive.
Post-WWII has seen more peaceful and prosperous world than many years of its existence. The formation of the United Nations and the fear of nuclear escalation has led to more paradoxical world with each state arming and forming alliance for the purpose of self defense. The cold war led to fierce competition between the two great supper powers. Nations has not been on each others throat like we are seeing in the apparent return of hostilities between the West and Russia.
source
While the last couple of decades have indeed been more peaceful than before, the resurgence of interstate tensions particularly post-cold era has led to scholars debating on how wars can be prevented. Just like the great debate that ensued between the idealist and realist during the inter-war periods, scholars are still debating on the causes of interstate wars. International Relations (IR) emerged as a field of studies basically to find solutions to interstate dispute and wars during the “great war” periods. It is however not surprising that the recent disruption of world/European peace has seen the crafting of doctrines and theories to explain this unfortunate incidence. In the field of IR,liberalism, Marxism, realism, critical theory and many others are theories that can be used to understudy any global event. These theories provide a door frame through which major global events could be studied and explained.
Realism is a theory in IR belief that the international system is anarchic not because it is chaotic, but the absence of authority to guarantee order makes state takes decision that that maximize their interest instead of keeping order.They belief that the global arena is made up of sovereign states that compete for their self interest and as such any attempt to understand global politics should be done in the context of “struggle for power and security” because this is at the heart of international politics.
Realists also sees power as defining feature in global politics and thus,understand power in terms of economic might, military might, high advancement in technology and population. Realists lay emphasis on high military capabilities due to how anarchic the world is manage.According to the realists, military power gives States the leverage of hard power which it can project to protect it interest and sphere of influence.
The political tension brought as a results of the Russia-Ukraine war has led to talks about the return of the cold war or possible nuclear annihilation. The war has global implications on security, economy, politics and technology. The war has united Europe than ever and has given NATO new means of existence. As nations are busily forming alliance and balancing, others are also rethinking about their security in a chaotic global system.
The Russia-Ukraine war is complicated with different actors but mainly actors like Ukraine, The West (EU, USA, Canada, Japan) and on the other hand The Russian Federation. Even though countries like India and China want to stay neutral on this, their tacit approval of the war cannot be overlooked.Meanwhile the Gulf countries deafen silence is loud enough. Countries like Iran has taken advantage to change the nuclear talks in its favor while North Korea is testing new ballistic missiles. In all this, Africa is totally lost out due to its low respect in international politics.
In a system where there is anarchy, states must chose their foreign policy position serious because any mishap could ruin its interest and sometimes be devoured by a bigger country within the system.One key perspective of understanding how states deals with each other and why bigger states take certain decisions is the theory of realism.
Russia's offensive action in Ukraine cannot be justified by international laws that bothers on sovereignty. There's nothing that justifies Russia's war in Ukraine from moral and legal perspectives.
However, from the realists perspective of how states compete for power and security, their action is justified. NATOs expasion towards Eastward, is a clear threat to Russian security and sphere of influence.
To be continued...
