Cooperative Security, Arms Control and Disarmament Policy Brief No.153 - January, 2023 • By Hugh Miall
Can Conflict Resolution Principles Apply in Ukraine?

Image: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com
How can the tradition of ideas and practice about conflict resolution be applied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? It is vital to try to bring the conflict to an end, to avert the obvious risks of the conflict widening and escalating. Yet there are few expectations of an early peace and the conflict seems highly resistant to resolution. Is the application of conflict resolution and the achievement of a reasonable outcome completely hopeless in these circumstances? This Policy Brief analyses the conflict at three inter-related levels, and explores the belief that conflict resolution principles could be applied if the parties were to move away from their current positions.