Russian intervention and the principle of self-determination of nations

Abstract

Western media often regard Russia's foreign policy in international conflicts as obstructionist and irrational because the relations of cooperation, strategic partnership and international standards shared between Russia and the West a few decades ago have moved into a new era of confrontation. The objective of this study is to analyze the justification of Russian interventions in the self-determination of nations with the argument of self-defense in maintaining the norms of territorial integrity and sovereignty. A bibliographical study was presented that qualitatively investigated the principles of public international law regarding Russia's counterbalance to the United States/European countries and the fear of security threats. The results show the perception that Russia deviates from the norms of international law in the context of post-Soviet political relations, as seen in the conflicts in Kosovo, Iraq, South Ossetia/Abkhazia, Libya, and Syria, which led to the crisis in Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.