Graduation Year
2024
Date of Submission
12-2023
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Government
Reader 1
Hilary Appel
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
@ 2023 Jonathan A Ip
Abstract
This paper examines how Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to legitimize the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The paper focuses on three justifications identified from Putin’s addresses and existing scholarly arguments: the threat of NATO expansion into Ukraine; the use of historical references such as the Great Patriotic War to portray Ukrainians as neo-Nazis and Russophobes; and the reclamation of lost Russian territories through the Russian world concept. This paper concludes that Putin employed such justifications to conceal his expansionist goals of annexing Ukraine. Moreover, this paper assesses how the 2022 invasion backfired for Putin as he not only failed to capture Ukraine, but inadvertently strengthened Ukraine’s case to join NATO after the war.
Recommended Citation
Ip, Jonathan, "House of Cards: Examining the Justifications Behind Putin’s Failed Gambit in Ukraine" (2024). CMC Senior Theses. 3441.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3441
