Geopolitics, geography and the Ukrainian - Russian war
Author(s)
Date
2022-08-22Source Title
Turkish Policy Quarterly
Print ISSN
1303-5754
Publisher
Turkish Policy Quarterly
Volume
21
Issue
2
Pages
83 - 92
Language
English
Type
ArticleItem Usage Stats
39
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37
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Abstract
The trigger of the Ukraine-Russia war is the enlargement of NATO, essentially a Western exploitation of Russian weakness emanating from Soviet Union's dissolution. Russia has communicated her reactions to the enlargement peacefully until the prospect of Ukraine becoming a NATO member. The second wave of enlargement coming from the direction of neutral states such Finland and Sweden originates from Finnish and Swedish fears of being the next targets of Russian military campaigns. NATO enlargement to Ukraine has caused Russia-Ukraine war that in turn has caused some neutral states to leave their neutrality and become NATO members. Therefore, NATO expansion efforts has led to a further expansion through war. However, the exclusion of and warring with Russia only obliterates the opportunity to form a large alliance to balance China. The West should understand that it is not wise to create incentives for the formation of a Sino-Russian alliance.