The Role of Russian Nationalism in the Invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

The success of structural realism in predicting the possibility of war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine is acknowledged. However, as Kenneth Waltz observed, structural methods alone would not have foreseen WWI or the timing of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as they do not account for the human and societal aspects of international relations (IR); the first and second levels of analysis are essential in understanding the cause of war. More specifically, nationalism, at a second level of analysis, and its impact upon leadership, is examined in an assessment of the causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The primary thesis is that Russian nationalism played a significant role in the invasion of Ukraine, and NATO expansion does not explain all of the reasons why Russia invaded Ukraine. Contemporary Russian nationalism encompasses a range of characteristics, including myths, national egoism, and historical distortion. Given the numerous motives for Russian nationalism, its typology is mixed, and in this era, it primarily takes imperial, statist, and ethnographic forms. Subjective matters of human affairs, such as leadership, perception of history, cultural awareness, national identity, and other elements of nationalism, play essential roles in Russian foreign policy. Analysis of these factors enhances an IR assessment. This dissertation uses the Russia-Ukraine War as an IR environment to assess the impact of nationalism and its characteristic elements, not only on the Russian public but also on President Vladimir Putin, whose sense of imperial nationalism strengthened from 2014 to 2022. Following Putin’s fixation on reclaiming what he perceived as former Russian territories, a chauvinistic imperial nationalism shaped his ideology. Eurasianism, a socio-political concept that posits Russia's place within a Eurasian geopolitical framework rather than European or Asian categorizations, is examined in relation to its impact on Putin’s imperial vision. This dissertation contends that ideational and national identity components are accessible variables to a country specialist after considerable study of a government, culture, and national identity, and are valuable information for an IR assessment.

Disciplines

International Relations | Political Science

Subject Area

Political science; East European studies; International relations

Department

International Relations (INR)

First Advisor

Bradizza, Luigi

Second Advisor

Giannakos, Symeon A.

Third Advisor

Shaw, Jeffrey M.

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

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