RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT: FROM AN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PERSPECTIVE
2 min read
By Margaret Kamba
Chitepo School of Ideology’s Head of International Relations General Ezekiel Zabanyana says the Russia-Ukraine conflict has exposed the hypocrisy of sanctions which have a telling effect.
This follows the more than month long crisis which has rocked the two nations killing thousands in the process while displacing many others.
“The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a major ideological contestation. It is a conflict of transformation of world authority or power. United States of America has been a world policeman or world dictator meaning it has been using brute force, been coercive, using vert or covert, subtle or otherwise,” General Zabanyana said.
“The most pertinent and very known type of intervention we know is Libya which was bombed twice first under the pretext that Libya was making a conducive environment for terrorists against the US resulting in the US saying if need be, they would do it again. The second was R2P which is the Responsibility to Protect under the United Nations Treaty,” Cde Zabanyana said.
“Two states in Ukraine suppressed or repressed by Ukraine have had Russia exercising the R2P which is why it is special operations rather than aggression and invasion. Russia feels it has the Responsibility to Protect Russians in Ukraine and to have Ukraine join NATO, the EU and have some G7 members at their doorstep means eminent danger as NATO’s expansion to that part hence the right to use force under Article 51 of the UN Charter talks about anticipatory self defence.”
According to General Zabanyana Ukraine was not meant to apply for NATO membership under the Bucharest Agreement or obligation. He adds that the James Monroe doctrine of December 1923 considered it an act of war to interfere in the Western hemisphere hence Russia is justified in its actions.
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