Russia's Invasion, Ukraine's Resistance, and Prospects for Peace

Why did Russia invade Ukraine, how is the war (un)likely to end, and why? Oxana Shevel’s talk will argue that the roots of Russia’s war on Ukraine lie not in NATO enlargement but in the growing identity and regime divergence between the two states since 1991. Drawing on Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States (Polity 2024), it will explain how Ukraine’s democratic nation-building and European orientation collided with Russia’s return to authoritarian and imperial ambitions, shaping both the outbreak of the war and prospects for its resolution.