UKRAINIAN CONFLICT – BETWEEN GEOPOLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

AVRAMOVIĆ Nenad (Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law for Business and Judicature, University Business Academy in Novi Sad), avramovic.n@pravni-fakultet.info
MARKOVIĆ Miloš (Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law for Business and Judicature, University Business Academy in Novi Sad), markovic@pravni-fakultet.info

Ethnic, religious, political and economic contradictions accumulated for years were triggered by Ukraine’s gaining independence and additionally accelerated by transitional stratification of the society and the economic crisis. On the other hand, in a geostrategic sense, Ukraine is considered to be the centre of Eurasian space, so its military neutrality is a condition for the national safety of Russia. In the paper, the authors analyse internal controversies of the divided Ukraine, catalytic contribution of Euro-Atlantic Western countries headed by the United States, the EU and the NATO to the conflict sharpening as well as Russia’s tendency to maintain geostrategic supremacy and retain its national security. Internal contradictions had first escalated into demonstrations and then followed a coup d’état by Euro-Atlantists who caused unrest among the proRussian population in the eastern, industrial part of the country by restricting their rights. The referendum on independence and Crimean secession ensued following the Kosovo precedent, then followed the accession to Russia and next the proclamation of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. By not acknowledging the people’s right to self-determination, the interim regime in Kiev supported by a great majority of Western countries initiated a military action and practically led to a civil war in the country. The international legal arguments of the pro-Russian east come down to ensuring the collective right of people to self-determination affirmed in practice and by the International United Nations Court of Justice; on the other hand, the pro-Atlantist West relies on the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. At the same time, every event is used for media manipulation, especially by Western countries’ media, with the aim of establishing geostrategic predominance over the Ukrainian territory. With the current balance of power, political escalations and a possible accession of Ukraine to the NATO are undoubtedly leading to a new cold war. The paper offers a brief analysis of the Ukrainian crisis aiming to present its causes through a historical approach and through the conflict of geostrategic interests of the opposed parties its possible consequences. The cause-effect analysis is completed with jurisprudent international practice, which demonstrates all the relativity of the international legal order and its determination by political interests of powerful countries.

Keywords: Ukrainian crisis, geopolitics, national security, right to selfdetermination, contradictions, Euromaidanists, international law