Russia’s Aggression against Ukraine: a Clash of Two Visions of the International Community and International Law

Cezary Mik

doi:10.21697/2022.12.2.5

Published : 2023-03-08

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2022)

Russia’s Aggression against Ukraine: a Clash of Two Visions of the International Community and International Law

Cezary Mik

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6758-1909

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21697/2022.12.2.5

Abstract

Russia's aggression against Ukraine represents the culmination of a clash between two visions of the international community and international law. The first is the vision of the West, formulated especially under the influence of the United States. This vision is reflected in the current situation of the community, which is based on American hegemony, and in the state of international law, which has emerged especially after the end of the Cold War. The second vision is that of Russia and China, which has been systematically constructed since the end of the 20th century, supported at least in some aspects by other states belonging to or aspiring to the BRICS or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The article undertakes an analysis from the perspective of the response of the West and, more broadly, the international community, to Russian aggression. It examines demands for change in the sphere of power within the community and relations between its members, as well as changes in the creation, interpretation and operation of international law. The consequences of the clash of these visions, which is of a systemic, civilisational nature with regard to both the community and international law, are also assessed.

Keywords:

International community, international law, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, multiporalism, multilateralism, new global governance, principles of international law, human rights, democracy, rule of law, clash of civilisations

Details

References

Statistics

Authors

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

Mik, C. (2023). Russia’s Aggression against Ukraine: a Clash of Two Visions of the International Community and International Law. Polish Review of International and European Law, 12(2), 57–113. https://doi.org/10.21697/2022.12.2.5

Altmetric indicators

Cited by / Share

References

A/52/153.

A/RES/55/2.

A/RES/60/1.

A/RES/68/262.

A/RES/76/70.

A/RES/77/229.

A/RES/ES-11/4.

A/RES/ES-11/5.

d’Asprement, Jean, Singh, Sahib (eds.). Concepts for International Law. Contributions to Disciplinary Thought. Cheltenham-Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.

Allegations of Genocide Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation), ICJ Order on Provisional Measures, 16 March 2022, point 23, as well as Order, 7 October 2022.

Bachand, Rémi. Théories critiques et droit international. Bruxelles: Éditions É. Bruylant, 2013.

Benvenisti, Eyal. The Law of Global Governance. Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2014.

Bianchi, Andrea. International Law Theories. An Inquiry into Different Ways of Thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Bin, Yu. “The New World Order According to Moscow and Beijing.” Comparative Connections, 2005, vol. 7, Issue 3, https://cc.pacforum.org/2005/10/new-world-order-according-moscow-beijing/.

BRICS after the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Biuletyn Polskiego Instytutu Stosunków Międzynarodowych, 2022, No. 99, text: file:///C:/Users/cezary/Downloads/PISM%20Bulletin%20no%2099%20(2016)%2015%20June%202022.pdf.

Brunk, Ingrid, Hakimi, Monica. “Russia, Ukraine, and the Future World Order.” American Journal of International Law, 2022, vol. 116, No. 4.

Burke-White, William W. “Power Shifts in International Law: Structural Realignment and Substantive Pluralism.”, Harvard International Law Journal, 2015, vol. 56, No. 1.

Byres M., Nolte G. (eds.). United States Hegemony and the Foundations of International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Carrying Forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the Promotion of Peace and Development Speech by Wen Jiabao Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China At Rally Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, 28 June 2004, http://id.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/xntjgk/200406/t20040628_2114572.htm.

Chimni, Bhupinder S. “Third World Approach to International Law: A Manifesto.” International Community Law Review, 2006, vol. 8, No. 1.

Chimni, Bhupinder S., “The Past, Present and Future of International Law: A Critical Third World Approach.” Melbourne Journal of International Law, 2007, vol. 7, No. 2.

Daudet, Yves. 1919-2019, le flux du multilatéralisme. RCADI vol. 403. Leiden: Brill, 2019.

Declaration on Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation Between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of India, 25 June 2003, https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/2649_665393/200306/t20030625_679085.html.

McDougal, Myres S. “International Law and the Future.” Mississippi Law Journal, 1979, vol. 50.

Dunhoff, Jeffrey L., Trachtman, Joel P. (eds.). Ruling the World? Constitutionalism, International Law and Global Governance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Elliott, Edward. “Future of International Law.” California Law Review, 1918, vol. 6, Issue 4.

Fassbender, Bardo. The United Nations Charter as the Constitution of the International Community. Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2009.

Franchini, Daniel, Tzanakopoulos, Antonios. “The Kosovo Crisis.” In The Use of Force in International Law, edited by Ruys, Tom, Corten, Oliver, Hofer Alexandra. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Weller, Marc. “The Iraq War-2003.” In The Use of Force in International Law, edited by Ruys, Tom, Corten, Oliver, Hofer Alexandra. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Friedmann, Wolfgang. “The Disintegration of European Civilisation and the Future of International Law. Some Observations on the Special Foundations of Law.” Modern Law Modern, 1938, vol. 2, Issue 3.

Happold, Matthew. International Law in a Multipolar World. London-New York: Routledge, 2012.

He, Zhipeng, Sun, Lu. A Chinese Theory of International Law. Singapore: Springer Verlag, 2020.

International Law and Defining Russia’s Involvement in Crimea and Donbas, 13 February 2022, Global Rights Compliance, https://globalrightscompliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/International-Law-and-Russia-Involvement-in-Crimea-and-Donbas.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1uC0KAsEW_T_ZRT7tfCUrvjdBonx-SgC3MdeKYomxCsjr-u2zDb4wxr1s.

Joint Statement Signed by the Chinese and Russian Heads of States, l6 July, 2001, https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/2649_665393/200107/t20010724_679028.html.

Joint Statement of the IInd BRIC Summit, Brasilia, 2010, http://infobrics.org/files/pdf/7.pdf.

Joint Statement of the BRIC Countries’ Leaders (Yekaterinburg, Russia, June 16, 2009).

Klabbers, Jan, Peters, Anne, Ulfstein, Geir. The Constitutionalization of International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009;

Knox, Robert. “Hegemony.” In Concepts for International Law. Contributions to Disciplinary Thought, edited by d’Asprement, Jean, Singh, Sahib. Cheltenham-Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.

Kohen, Marcello G. “The use of force by the United States after the end of the Cold War, and its impact on international law.” In United States Hegemony and the Foundations of International Law, edited by Byres, Michael, Nolte, Georg. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Kotova, Anastasiya, Tzouvala, Ntina. “In Defence of Comparisons: Russia and the Transmutations of Imperialism in International Law.” American Journal of International Law, 2022, vol. 116, No. 4.

P. Kugiel, The Relevance of Institute for the Study of War, Ukraine Conflict Updates, https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-updates.

Kwakwa, Edward. “The international community, international law, and the United States: three in one, two against one, or one and the same?” In: United States Hegemony and the Foundations of International Law, edited by Byres, Michael, Nolte, Georg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Kwiecień, Roman. “The Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine: International Law and Power Politics or ‘What Happens Now’.” Polish Review of International and European Law, 2022, vol. 11, Issue 1.

Lavrov, Serhei. The Present and the Future of Global Politics. 13 May 2007, Russia in Global Affairs 2007, No. 2, https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/the-present-and-the-future-of-global-politics/.

Macdonald, Ronald St., Johnston, Douglas M. (eds.). Towards World Constitutionalism. Issues in the Legal Ordering of the World Community. Leiden-Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2005.

Mälksoo, Lauri. Russian Approaches to International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Mälksoo, Lauri. “Russia and China Challenge the Western Hegemony in the Interpretation of International Law.” EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law, July 15, 2016, https://www.ejiltalk.org/russia-and-china-challenge-the-western-hegemony-in-the-interpretation-of-international-law/

Marchuk, Iryna. “Powerful States and International Law: Changing Narratives and Power Struggles in International Courts.” University of California Davis Journal of International Law, 2019, vol. 26, no. 1.

Müllerson, Rein. “Ukraine: Victim of Geopolitics.” Chinese Journal of International Law, 2014, vol. 13, Issue 1.

Orford, Anne. “Regional Orders, Geopolitics, and the Future of International Law.” Current Legal Problems, 2021, vol. 74, issue 1.

Orford, Anne. “The Destiny of International Law.” Leiden Journal of International Law 2004, vol. 17, No. 3.

Paulus, Andreas L. “The influence of the United States on the concept of the “International community”.” In: United States Hegemony and the Foundations of International Law, edited by Byres, Michael, Nolte, Georg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order of 18 December 2003, A/RES/57/213,

Roberts, Anthea. Is International Law International? Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Role of the United Nations in promoting development in the context of globalization and interdependence, A/RES/77/175.

Roucounas, Emmanuel. A Landscape of Contemporary Theories of International Law. Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2019.

“Russian Invasion of Ukraine Draws Widespread – but Not Universal Condemnation.” American Journal of International Law, 2022, vol. 116, No. 3.

S/1997/384A.

Ghosal Singh, Antara. “BRICS and BRI: China Aims for Strategic Alignment.” Issue Brief, No. 591, November 2022, https://www.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ORF_IssueBrief_591_BRICS-China.pdf.

Sciculuna, Nicole. The Politics of International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Shepherd, Christian, Rauhala, Emily, Tan, Rebecca. “In G-20 talks, China objects to calling Russian invasion of Ukraine a ‘war’.” Washington Post, 15 November 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/15/china-xi-ukraine-g20-war-russia/.

Singh, Prabhakar, Meyer, Benoit (eds.). Critical International Law. Postrealism, Postcolonialism, and Transnationalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Sino-Russian Joint Declaration on the International Order in the 21st Century of 1 July 2005.

Sloss, David L., Dickinson, Laura A. “The Russia-Ukraine War and the Seeds of a New Liberal Plurilateral Order.” American Journal of International Law, 2022, vol. 116, No. 4.

Snow, A.H. “L’avenir du droit international public.” Revue Générale de Droit International Public, 1912, vol. 19, No. 1.

Statement of the Presidium of the Russian Association of International Law, text: http://www.ilarb.ru/html/news/2022/7032022.pdf It is worth noting that there is no ILA branch for China. Taiwan has such a branch.

Thielbörger, Pierre. “The Status and Future of International Law after the Libya Intervention.” Goettingen Journal of International Law, 2012, vol. 4, No. 1.

Trachtman, Joel P. The Future of International Law. Global Government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Treves, Tullio. The Expansion of International Law. RCADI, vol. 398, 2019.

Walker, Nigel. “Ukraine crisis: A timeline (2014 – present).” Research Briefing, 1 April 2022, House of Commons Library, https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9476/CBP-9476.pdf.

Wittke, Cindy. “The Politics of International Law in the Post-Soviet Space: Do Georgia, Ukraine, and Russia ‘Speak’ International Law in International Politics Differently?” Europe-Asia Studies, 2020, vol. 72, no. 2.

Wuerth, Ingrid. “China, Russia, and International Law.” 11 July 2016, Lawfare, https://www.lawfareblog.com/china-russia-and-international-law.

Viñuales, Jorge E. (ed.). The UN Friendly Relations Declaration at 50. An Assessment of the Fundamental Principles of International Law. Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Yasuaki, Onuma. A Transcivilizational Perspective on International Law. Leiden-Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2010.

Zhao, Keran, Xiao, Fengcheng. “Aggression and Determination: Two Basic Issues of International Law in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.” Beijing Law Review, 2022, No. 13.