A Cosmopolitan Model for Peacebuilding: The Ukrainian Cases of Crimea and the Donbas

The responses to new political conflicts and wars that shape the post-Cold War order often remain informed by old patterns of thinking in terms of Realism, Liberalism, or critical theories. These established theoretical frameworks frequently reject the legacy of normative political theory and instead promote their own intellectual credentials. Such an approach means that political philosophy, on the one side, and IR theory, on the other, go their separate ways. When it comes to finding solutions for political conflict and war, the application of a distinct normative conception derived from sub-disciplines within the neighbourhood of political theory and international political theory offers an alternative to exclusive reliance on traditional IR paradigms. Critical-Political Cosmopolitanism is such an alternative notion. It integrates liberalism's focus on individualism and critical theories' communicative paradigm into a set of binding principles that allow this conception to be 'empirically meaningful' for directing conflict prevention and resolution within a concrete political context. The case of the de jure Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which has been occupied since February 2014 by the Russian Federation, and the following war in the Donets Basin (Donbas) offer illustrative challenges to which cosmopolitanism and its principles can be applied. Attempts to resolve the situation before larger escalation ended when Russia first started the building up troops over months along the Ukrainian and Belarusian borders and eventually launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Foreword Abstract List of Acronyms List of Tables and Graphics Chronology of Important Events 1. Introduction 2. Methodology Ontological and Epistemological Clarifications Research and Case Study Design Method of Data Collection Conclusion 3. Why Cosmopolitanism? 3.1 On Realist Theories 3.2 On Liberal Theories 3.3 On Critical Theories 3.4 On Conflict Theories 3.5 Conclusion 4. The Historical Landmarks of Cosmopolitanism 4.1 Cynic and Stoic Cosmopolitanism 4.2 Sixteenth Century Cosmopolitanism—Franciscus de Vitoria 4.3 Contractual Cosmopolitanism—Hobbes and Spinoza 4.4 Cosmopolitanism of the Enlightenment—Immanuel Kant 4.5 Conclusion 5. Contemporary Cosmopolitan Preconditions 5.1 Individualism—The Core of Cosmopolitanism 5.2 Universalism—The Scope of Cosmopolitanism 5.3 Moral Obligations—Duties to Strangers 5.4 Institutional Order—The Moral andPolitical Agency 5.5 Conclusion 6. Critical-Political Cosmopolitanism—A Model for Peacebuilding 6.1 Beyond the Moral Dichotomy—Critical-Political Discourse 6.2 The Role of the Nation state 6.3 The Role of International Institutions and Civil Society Organizations 6.4 Principles of a Critical-Political Cosmopolitanism 6.4.1 The 1st Principle—Justice as Self-Determination 6.4.2 The 2nd Principle—Mutual Recognition 6.4.3 The 3rd Principle—Participation 6.4.4 The 4th Principle—Deliberation 6.4.5 The 5th Principle—Responsibility to ‘do no harm’ 6.5 Conclusion 7. Cosmopolitan Peacebuilding 7.1 The Ukrainian Situation—A Case Study 7.2 Crimea—An example of Cosmopolitan Conflict Prevention 7.2.1 The 1st Principle—Justice as Self-Determination 7.2.2 The 2nd Principle—Mutual Recognition 7.2.3 The 3rd Principle—Participation 7.2.4 The 4th Principle—Deliberation 7.2.5 The 5th Principle—Responsibility to do no harm 7.3 The Donbas—Ideas for a possible Conflict Resolution 7.3.1 The 1st Principle—Justice as Self-Determination 7.3.2 The 2nd Principle—Mutual Recognition 7.3.4 The 4th Principle—Deliberation 7.3.5 The 5th Principle—Responsibility to ‘do no harm’ 7.4 Conclusion 8. Concluding Remarks and Outlook Notes Introduction Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 References