Fortunately, there is all manner of passionate symbolic and concrete expressions of global solidarity with the people of Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s (Russia’s) war of aggression on their sovereign nation-state. Today I would like to share some news sources and international law and other blogs I’ve found helpful by way of making some legal and political sense (both encouraging and discouraging) of what is happening, while putting aside for the moment all the historical events or variables that one might argue are among the long- or medium-term or precipitating causes and larger contextual backdrop that likely played a formative role in Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine (given Putin’s sociopathic authoritarian dispositions and behavior, we should not, in any case presume these will adequately explain his motivations).
Perhaps the foremost international law blog is now EJIL: Talk! (blog of the European Journal of International Law). One of the blog’s editors, Marko Milanovic, is especially helpful. See, for example, his posts, “Recognition,” and “What is Russia’s Legal Justification for Using Force against Ukraine?” Since these were first posted in the third week of February, there have been numerous contributions by first-rate scholars on a variety of legal and political topics concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition to the reporting and op-eds at the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera online, other helpful sites include Opinio Juris, Lawfare, Just Security, and Eurasianet. I occasionally check in at both CNN and MSNBC for the latest news. I’ve not kept track of all the insightful pieces I’ve read from public intellectuals and experts on “international security” over the last month because I’ve been preoccupied with my own research projects but if I can carve out the time, I’ll try to post some of these in the future. I leave your with two pieces from Slavoj Žižek, who is at his best when he is not trying to impress us with his Lacanian and philosophical bona fides: “What Does Defending Europe Mean?,” and something he penned back in 2014, “Why both the left and right have got it wrong on Ukraine.”
Addenda: A FB friend shared this article by Žižek as well: “What Will Grow Out of a Pocket Full of Sunflower Seeds?” that just appeared in The Philosophical Salon (part of an LARB project). And while (for better and worse) I rarely listen to podcasts, this one is very good and thus highly recommended: EJIL: The Podcast! Episode 14—“From Russia With War.”
Relevant Bibliographies
- Human Rights
- Immigration and Refugees
- International Criminal Law
- International Law
- Violent Conflict and the Laws of War
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