The Current Ukraine Situation and IR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Current Ukraine Situation and IR - Essay Example This paper bases on the current situation in Ukraine to show that power and self-interest are characteristic of International Relations today. The current situation in Ukraine shows the pursuit of Russia of its unification with Crimea. Russia takes advantage of its powerful nature to continue breaching set laws and treaties and further the Ukrainian conflict. In the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in part, as it was assured of the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council, including Russia, through diplomatic notes and memorandum. The ongoing Ukrainian conflict therefore, displays cynicism on the side of Russia and other permanent members of the UN Security Council. Russia and other four permanent members of the UN Security Council, being powerful, continue to witness breaching of the Budapest Memorandum, and this is unfair to the currently less powerful Ukraine. This paper has analyzed how the aspects of power and self-interest manifest in current international relations, basing on the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has been seen to capitalize on its higher power status to control the less powerful Ukraine. On the other hand, both Russia and Ukraine exhibit self-interest in the different ways they have acted in this conflict. Similarly, the UN and the US are considered to have greater authority to resolve various problems in international relations. Nevertheless, basing on the Ukrainian conflict, it is evident that power and self-interest major characteristics of IR.