The Soviet Legacy and the Global South’s Reactions to Russian Invasion of Ukraine in the UN General Assembly

Bibliographic Data

ID10071728
AuthorsQingjie Zeng (0000-0001-7739-6793, Fudan University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume70
Issue7-8
Pages1214-1244
Publication date2026-01-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00220027261417920
OpenAlexW7124451096
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited49

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted multiple resolutions condemning the aggression and calling for the withdrawal of Russian forces. While some Global South countries supported these measures, many refrained from taking a critical stance toward Moscow, despite clear violations of international law. What accounts for this divided response? Departing from existing explanations that focus on contemporary geopolitical or economic interests, this paper traces Global South countries’ positions to the Soviet Union’s extensive Cold War–era interventions in the developing world. We argue that states that received greater volumes of Soviet aid are significantly more likely to align with Russia today, driven by both material dependencies and ideational legacies. Empirically, we demonstrate that the observed association withstands extensive robustness tests and is substantiated by evidence for both material and ideational mechanisms. These findings underscore the importance of a historical-institutional approach to understanding international alignment in the Global South and call for moving beyond the Liberal International Order framework when analyzing global responses to contemporary conflicts

Aggression · Developing country · General assembly · Geopolitics · Global South · International relations · Psychological intervention · Robustness (evolution · Economic, Social, and Public Health Issues in Russia and Globally · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Nuclear Issues and Defense

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