Introduction

Abstract

The focus of the articles in this issue is on the geopolitical context of the conflict. Writing in the period between the Russian intervention in Crimea and the start of the violent armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, the authors examine the larger context surrounding the conflict in Ukraine, including the extent to which the conflict was provoked by external powers and the extent to which it is a reflection of the larger conflict between supporters of a U.S.-dominated world order and those countries determined to resist it.