A nation-in-the-making, in arms

Control of force, strategy and the Ukrainian Volunteer Battalions

Bibliographic Data

ID12699554
AuthorsIlmari Käihkö (0000-0003-0462-6679, Uppsala University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume18
Issue2
Pages147-166
Publication date2018-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDefence Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1470-2436 • E-ISSN: 1743-9698
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14702436.2018.1461013
OpenAlexW2800555696
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited22

At the core of waging war and strategy is the creation, control and use of force. This article investigates the volunteer battalions that mobilized in Ukraine during the spring of 2014. It contextualizes the volunteer phenomenon and focuses on the state strategies to establish control over these militias. As ambiguous entities arising from a situation characterized by rapid social change – revolution and war – the volunteer battalions threatened existing hierarchies and questioned state authority. The situation was exacerbated by the war, which deviated from the expectations of Ukrainian combatants and Western military observers alike. The state nevertheless enjoyed a modicum of success in reining in the militias through four strategies of undermining, co-option, incorporation and coercion. While predominantly integrated into a more rigid category of paramilitary forces, the volunteers continue to play a role in both the Ukrainian society and security sector to the unforeseeable future

Coercion (linguistics · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · State (computer science · Ukrainian · European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security

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