Crimea Form Regional And International Pepspectives

We hope that this edited volume will provide the audienc- The international community’s treatment of the war in es with an informed perspective about the significance of Ukraine has significantly changed since 2014 but it is not the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 a sure bet that it will be able to reverse Russian encroach- It should not only enrich our understanding of the geo- ments in its neighboring states. We hope that this edited political implications of this development but also better volume will highlight some critical turning points and contextualize the ongoing war in Ukraine. When Russia set moments of failure by the international community in out to invade Ukraine in early 2022, many argued that it the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. It should also was the return of classic geopolitical conflict but perhaps inform any policy considerations regarding the status of it had never left in the first place. The annexation of Crimea Crimea as well as a potential future settlement of the con- was an important turning point in Russia’s efforts to re- flict between Ukraine and Russia. The conflict may be a claim what it considers its “backyard.” It also arguably had protracted one but the prospects for peace, we hope, will precedent in the Chechen and Georgian wars. emerge sooner rather than later.