The Balance of Power in Ukraine and Deterrence Effectivenes Against Nuclear-Armed Russia
Journal: ODU Digital Commons (Old Dominion University)
Year: 2026

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised several significant questions regarding the impact of deterrence, the European balance of power and the ability of current security frameworks to restrict the actions of nuclear-armed revisionist powers. This paper uses an integrated theoretical framework consisting of deterrence theory, the balance of power theory, the security dilemma and neorealism to analyze the dynamic relationships between Russia, Ukraine and the Western alliance. The primary contrib