The Impact of Russian's Invasion of Ukraine on the Alignment of Small States
Abstract
The 2022 Russo-Ukraine War has pushed international politics toward an atmosphere of competition and conflict that is pressuring states to pick a side of one of the emerging great power blocks. However, globalization has altered the global environment, and the logic of international alignments is not as straightforward as it was during the Cold War. This thesis investigates the changes in strategic postures and alignment choices of European small states in response to this increasingly complex international system. It aims to elucidate the rationales of countries that have hedged their alignments with institutions like the European Union and how these behaviors relate to frameworks in international relations theory. Through a paired comparison, this thesis finds that Serbia's and Hungary's authoritarian regimes have leveraged their geopolitical positions and relative safety from external threats to adopt a hedging strategy that extracts benefits from association with Western institutions and their adversaries China and Russia. These diversified partnerships appease key domestic constituencies within these states, and gain them political and economic benefits. This practice of "hedging for profit," as well as its roots and logic, should be considered when analyzing the behaviors of other states that reside along the boundaries of the major poles of great powers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1225504
Entities
People
- Angela M. Puzan
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School