Description
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought the question of how to resolve interstate disputes back into international headlines. However, for citizens of the occupied territories in the east of Ukraine conflict dates back to 2014. The focus on state level initiatives to end the war has obscured the layered conflict dynamics which exist within the occupied territories. In the decade since its occupation of Crimea, Russian policy in the occupied territories has been marked by Russification and disinformation campaigns that weaponise historical narratives to legitimize its presence. This strategy aims to make de-occupation and the reversal of its influence progressively more difficult. A negotiated settlement to the interstate war will not necessarily resolve these tensions and indeed could exacerbate them – prolonging conflict and regional instability by shifting the war from an interstate to internal violence. It is therefore necessary to understand how any interstate agreement on territory would be implemented within the occupied territories themselves and identify what mechanisms may be needed to manage tension. This paper presents empirical data on the meaning of ‘security’ for people in and from the occupied territories. In so doing the paper considers if and how the tools of mediation and dialogue can be used to foster social resilience at the local level in the face of widespread disinformation, and how this process relates to negotiating positions at the interstate level.
