Using the unfolding crisis of the Ukraine war as a lens to consider the drivers of conflict and transformation in the contemporary world order.
Rather than a 'return of geopolitics', 'great power politics', or 'the revenge of revisionist powers', as it is often portrayed, the war against Ukraine should be seen as concentrating in a single cataclysm the crises of the era of neoliberal globalisation. Analyses that focus only on the inter-state dimension will occlude the multiple, fragmentary and transboundary ties that are shaping the conflict. The latter need to be fully comprehended in order to achieve a just end to the war which can contribute to long-term, sustainable peace-making.
Dr Luke Cooper is Associate Professorial Research Fellow in International Relations at the Conflict and Civicness Research Group based at LSE IDEAS, the in-house foreign policy think tank of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and the Director of PeaceRep's Ukraine programme. PeaceRep ('Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform) is an international consortium led by the University of Edinburgh Law School which is investigating conflict and peace transition processes in the 21st century.
