Resurging Great Power Conflicts and Regional Orders: Implications for South Asia

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a landmark moment that cemented a turning point in European security, highlighted a disconnect in international norms and set the undertones of contemporary hybrid and aggressive warfare. Beginning in 2014, the annexation of Crimea and the seizing of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine’s Donbas region invoked a geopolitical spillover in the form of a widening regional war. During its decades of independence, Ukraine sought to reinvent itself as a sovereign state while looking to closer align with western liberal institutions such as NATO and the European Union. However, with the involvement of other great powers such as the United States and China alongside colluding interests and ideological differences, regional conflicts have created a complex web of conflicting spheres of influence within the international system.

Within the international stage, the Ukraine war challenged the post-cold war order which sought to build a multipolar world hosting Westphalian ideals of cooperation and dialogue. Yet, the resurgence of great power conflict resulted in regional hostilities, erosion of regional and global supply chains, and the disintegration of global trade expansion, alongside impacting food, health and energy security. Hosting deeply integrated cultural, economic and political bonds, Ukraine exists as a primary driver of Russia’s motives in reinstating its former imperial glory within the international world order. On this note, this lecture will examine the resurgence of great power conflicts in line with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, alongside highlighting its consequences on security frameworks, the role of peace and delicate diplomacy, the threat of hyper-militarisation and the subsequent impact on South Asia.

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