Sovereignty, Patrimony and International Law: Russia's Attack on Ukraine

This book offers a concise yet in-depth analysis of Russia's complex--though consistent--strategic approach to Ukraine over the past 30 years, placing it within a broad historical and geopolitical context.

It reveals how Russia's ambitions toward Ukraine have been deeply rooted in a patrimonial paradigm--marked by a long-standing tradition of instrumentalizing sovereignty and (international) law. The book explores Moscow's use of 'legal smokescreens' to gradually erode Ukraine's sovereignty. It argues that the full-scale invasion was the culmination of Russia's failure to assert its patrimonial claims through legal and diplomatic means over 1991-2021, offering an anatomy of that failure.

Author: Rilka Dragneva,Kataryna Wolczuk
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Published: 03/31/2026
Pages: 196
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781529242799