Description
The war in Ukraine has brought war back to the forefront of European politics, shattering illusions about the “end of history” and giving renewed meaning to societies forced to confront questions of identity, sacrifice, and restraint. Drawing on Coker’s idea of war’s existential function, this paper complements Bull’s institutionalist view of war and Linklater’s process-sociological account of self-restraints towards violence. The war in Ukraine has strengthened Ukrainian identity and European unity against Russian imperialism, while also galvanising nationalist and illiberal tendencies across the West and exposing ambivalence towards war and sovereignty across non-Western states. By pitting these tendencies of national identification against each other in the crucible of war, the conflict intensifies socio-political struggles in Western states over identity, the future of the collective West, and the restraints on violence it will stand for. At stake are the choices of Western states that have traditionally promoted international humanitarian law and the reactions of non-Western states. These changes will influence the relationship between the primary institutions of international society: war, sovereignty, territoriality, international law, nationalism, and human rights. By reconfiguring established emotional and normative codes, the war in Ukraine may come to be seen as a turning point for international society.
