Degradation of Strategic Culture as a Threat to International Security: From Perceived Dilemmas to Real Military Confrontation

  • Post category:Issue XX

Serhii Zubchenko
Ph.D. in Political Science, Deputy Head of the Humanitarian Policy Department of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war

DOI https://doi.org/10.37837/2707-7683-2019-38

Abstract. The article highlights and analyses the current issues of international security agenda related to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the application by the Russian Federation of targeted destabilizing hybrid war techniques the territory of other states. The article describes the fundamental repercussions of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Russian military invasion of Donbas for international relations. Strategic culture is highlighted as an important factor of success of states and factor of international security as well as a prerequisite for the effective solution of urgent global problems, prevention of crisis and destructive phenomena. The necessity of prompt, consolidated and comprehensive inter-national response to illegal actions by the Russian Federation and its proxy-subjects, rep-resenting a direct and obvious threat to international peace and security is substantiated.
The author analyses the Russian aggression against Ukraine in the context of national, European and global security. The researcher notes, referring to the experts’ opinion, that the imposition of sanctions alone is not enough to achieve foreign policy goals. Specific signals from the top political leadership of states and international organizations imposing them are also important because these signals shape certain expectations of decision-makers.
Keywords: Russian military aggression against Ukraine, international law, diplomacy, international security, foreign policy, strategic culture, national security, geopolitics, hybrid war.

Download Article (ukr)

References
1. According to the East StratCom Task Force of the European External Action Service, starting from 2015, in the EU alone there have been documented 5100 cases of Russia’s disinformation, more than 200 of which concerned Ukraine (as of 25 March 2019). See EUvsDisinfo [online]. Available at: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ [in English]
2. See International Centre for Defence and Security (2019). ‘Gibridnyy arsenal Kremlya’, 8 March [online]. Available at: https://icds.ee/ru/gibridnyj-arsenal-kremlja/ [in Russian]
3. See Surkov, V. ‘Dolgoye gosudarstvo Putina (2019). Nezavisimaya gazeta, 11 February [online]. Available at: http://www.ng.ru/ideas/2019-02-11/5_7503_surkov.html [in Russian]
4. See Glaz’ev, S. (2019). ‘Zapadu nuzhno stabilizirovat’ situatsiyu s tsel’yu zakrepleniya rezulatov razgroma etoy chasti Russkogo mira’, Zavtra, blog post, 6 May [online]. Available at: http://zavtra.ru/blogs/glaz_ev_raskol [in Russian]
5. See Lukas, E. (2018). ‘Hroshi – rushiina syla heopolityky’, Ukrainskyi Tyzhden, no. 44(572); idem, (2018). ‘Finansovyi “Dykyi Skhid”’, Ukrainskyi Tyzhden, no. 45(573). [in Ukrainian]
6. See U.S. House of Representatives. Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy (15 May 2019). Assessing the Use of Sanctions in Addressing National Security and Foreign Policy Challenges. Statement by Daleep Singh [online]. Available at: https://financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hhrg-116-ba10-wstate-singhd-20190515.pdf [in English]
7. See Center for Global Studies ‘Strategy XXI’ ‘Putinski potoky: viiskovi zahrozy’ [online]. Available at: https://geostrategy.org.ua/ua/analitika/item/1569-putinski-potoki-viyskovi-zagrozi [in Ukrainian]
8. See Radio Svoboda (2019). ‘U SShA zaiavyly pro dedali bilshi politychni represii v Rosii’, 29 April [online]. Available at: https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-rosija-politychni-represiji/29911111.html [in Ukrainian]
9. Horbulin, V. (ed.) (2017). Svitova hibrydna viina: ukrainskyi front. Kyiv: NISD. [in Ukrainian]
10. ‘Countering Russia’s Aggression in Ukraine’ [online]. Available at: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=8dad6c865bed491ead3190c7ffb2fafe [in English]
11. Horbulin, V. (2019). ‘Zihraty bez falshu’, Dzerkalo tyzhnia, no. 2, 19–25 January [online]. Available at: https://dt.ua/internal/zigrati-bez-falshu-300027.html [in Ukrainian]
12. Lukas, E. (2018). ‘Hroshi yak zbroia’, Ukrainskyi tyzhden, no. 39(567) [online]. Available at: https://tyzhden.ua/Columns/50/220308 [in Ukrainian]
13. Kuzo, T. (2018). Viina Putina proty Ukrainy. Revoliutsiia, natsionalizm i kryminalitet. Kyiv: Dukh i Litera. [in Ukrainian]
14. Sayapin, S., Tsybulenko, Ye. (eds). (2018). The Use of Force against Ukraine and International Law: Jus Ad Bellum, Jus In Bello, Jus Post Bellum. T.M.C. Asser Press / Springer. [in English] https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-222-4
15. Lukas, E. (2018). ‘Iliuziia normalnosti’, Ukrainskyi tyzhden, no. 47(575) [online]. Available at: https://tyzhden.ua/Columns/50/223053 [in Ukrainian]
16. Havrylyshyn, B. (2013). Do efektyvnykh suspilstv: Dorohovkazy v maibutnie: dop. Rymskomu Klubovi. Kyiv: Pulsary. [in Ukrainian]
17. ‘Anatolii Halchynskyi: “Vlada bez stratehii ne mozhe buty konstruktyvnoiu” (2018). Dzerkalo tyzhnia, no. 40(1172) [online]. Available at: https://dt.ua/interview/anatoliy-galchinskiy-vlada-bez-strategiyi-ne-mozhe-buti-konstruktivnoyu-292192_.html [in Ukrainian]
18. Kuleba, D. (2019). Viina za realnist. Yak peremahaty u sviti feikiv, pravd i spilnot. Kyiv: #Knyholav. [in Ukrainian]