Russia-Ukraine war shows the Fall of Liberalism

In February 2022, Russian forces crossed the Ukrainian border and began invading Ukraine in what was supposed to be a large-scale military exercise. Many Russians have a great nationalist nationalism, and President Vladimir Putin's approval ratings rose with the annexation of Crimea in 2014. At the time of the annexation of Crimea, Western countries did not impose deadly sanctions against Russia or provide strong support for Ukraine, and appeared to effectively condone the annexation of Crimea. The annexation of Crimea and then the war in Ukraine in 2022 represent the basic worldview of realism and liberalism: anarchy.

There is no world government above the states in the international community. The UN Security Council was also dysfunctional because of Russia's permanent membership. This fact did not change with the annexation of Crimea or the war in Ukraine. However, the reactions of countries in international relations during the annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine were very different. One factor, of course, is that the scale of military power is very different between the Ukrainian war and the Crimean crisis.

The world at the time of the Crimean crisis could still be approached through liberalism. Many developed countries issued statements of critixism and some sanctions against Russia's actions, but they seemed to have avoided a clear confrontation and conflict. In order not to create a new conflict, the West did not exclude Russia from Swift, which has been called a financial nuclear weapon. The European Union also cooperated with Russia in the Minsk Protocol by urging Ukraine to accept autonomy for eastern Ukraine. This may have been important for the security of the European Union, but it can also be said to have been the result of compromise and cooperation among the countries for the sake of stability in the European region and their own security.

On the other hand, the war in Ukraine is currently difficult to resolve either through discussion or by developing international rules. One of the claims of liberalism, the prevention of the outbreak of war by developing interdependence around the economy, has also failed. Russia has been excluded from SWIFT, and McDonald's, Toyota plants, and energy companies have chosen to leave Russia. Capital diversity and interdependence clearly appear to be diminishing. All of this makes it true that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a step backward for liberalism in international relations theory. As long as military activities by the permanent members of the UN Security Council cannot be forcibly regulated, the validity of the realist theory of international relations will remain unassailable.