Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Accounting for the Domestic alongside the International
Journal: International Studies Review
Year: 2025

Abstract An old debate on the value of systemic explanations of international relations (IR) reemerged in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Both scholars and popular media have spent much oxygen and ink debating arguments that assign causal primacy to NATO expansion, status reclamation, spheres of influence, dissatisfaction, or multipolarity. However, understanding conflict onset and duration requires consideration of both domestic and international causes. Though accounting f