Open AccessWar and Peace in Eastern Europe: The Ukrainian Lessons
Author(s) -
Leonidas Donskis
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
revista română de studii baltice şi nordice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2067-1725
pISSN - 2067-225X
DOI - 10.53604/rjbns.v16i2_2
Subject(s) - geopolitics , ukrainian , politics , political science , democracy , political economy , human rights , consciousness , law , sociology , philosophy , linguistics , epistemology
The issue of war and peace in Eastern Europe is discussed in this interpretive essay on the grounds of war between Russia and Ukraine in Eastern Ukraine. Focus is on what happened to the worlds of geopolitics, EU core values, European liberal consensus on human rights and civil liberties, and present Russia with its increasing rejection of the aforementioned liberal attitudes and democratic values. Made up by a series of insights into the clashes of Russian and EU politics, this essay offers a philosophical perspective on why and how ongoing low intensity conflicts waged and orchestrated by Russia in Ukraine and in Eastern Partnership countries substantially changed the character of war and peace over the past years. The question raised here is as to what kind of political implications we can expect from this process. The trajectories of moral and political consciousness in present Russia and the EU are examined and compared with the help of an overview of some recent political and cultural events.