The politics of unpredictability: Acc/secession of Crimea and the blurring of international norms
Journal: East European Politics
Year: 2018

This article focuses on prominent recent episodes where Russia has put sovereignty, the obligation to refrain (O2R) from using force, and self-determination to the test. Most recently in the Crimean context, we see that Russia’s systematic instrumental use of these norms does not contest the norms as such, but as their application becomes more contingent and arbitrary, their meaning is nevertheless blurred. We additionally explore how other justifications were applied alongside self-determinatio