Section One: Research Topic
A. Research situation:
International security is a concern to all governments and non-governmental organizations such as the United Nations. In the recent past, Ukrainian security has been greatly endangered by the activities and intentions of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. This research falls under the interdisciplinary studies basically on Security Studies and History.
B. Research Title:
Should the West Arm Ukraine? An Examination of the Security Position of Europe and the Global Order
C. Abstract:
The security condition in Ukraine calls for an immediate international intervention to prevent the occurrence of inattention war. Specifically, countries of the West have a great responsibility because of their economic position and past relationships with Russia. In addition, such conflicts will affect world peace, leading to devastating consequences such as massacre and displacement of the affected population. Because of their long-time animosity with Russia, Ukraine will most likely suffer the biggest damages in the event of a war occurring. Therefore, the United States and other powerful nations must intervene and mediate between the two countries so that peace may prevail.
Section Two: Research Context
• The state of the literature:
Different academic scholars, writers, security experts and leaders have different opinions about the state of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. In the latest United Nations Security Council’s meeting, the conflict in Ukraine was the top agenda. Pavlo Klimkin, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, wanted the UN and EU to intervene and help in resolving the conflict. In an article posted today on The World Post, Poroshenko, the Ukrainian President claims that Boris Nemtsov, the Russian opposition leader was killed for attempting to disclose an evidence of Russia being involved in the separatist conflict of Russia. In the recent past, the Ukrainian security status has been a concern to various world governments with some Western powers accusing Russia for the ongoing conflict. Mark Adomanis, a Forbes contributor on 10th last month told the HuffingPost that a great economic disaster is looming in Ukraine and that they require financial and relief aid from the IMF and the EU. Specifically, the Russian invasion to occupy some parts of the country causes security tension within the region. In addition, Russia’s provision of armaments to separatist groups and military expansion are heightening global threats to security. There is a debate in international relations and security concerning the role Russia’s government is playing in regards to weapons provision. According to some experts, the situation in Eastern Europe may lead to intention war. For this reason, it is important to examine the security status in Ukraine to establish if there is a need for armament in preparation of external attacks. In particular, this research focuses on the Western countries’ interest and responsibility in protecting Ukraine.
• The leading scholar on the proposed topic:
There are many scholars in the field of international relations and matters concerning global security however, Roland Dannreuther is one of the greatest scholars in the discipline. In his book ‘International Security’ he focuses on the universal security status in the post-cold war era. His work is important for the research because it gives a historical and ideological evolution after the Second World War and helps to understand the current position and the potential causes of the current conflicts in Eastern Europe. Andrew Monaghan, a Senior Researcher in Eurasia and Russia programme, argues that the Ukraine conflict is a major turning point in the Euro-Atlantic security. He also says that the crisis is a crystallisation of long-term problems and dissonance between the West and Russia.
• Justification of the proposed research:
The security of the world is an important part of international development. Therefore, it is in the interest of the majority that the global peace is retained to avoid political and economical instability. Since the Ukraine-Russian relation is unstable and seems to stem a major security crisis the position of the Western countries on the situation is critical. For this reason, examining the importance of arming the Ukraine is important to understanding the international preparation in preventing the occurrence of an inattention War.
Section Three: Research Contents
A. Research questions:
1. Should the West arm Ukraine?
i. Is Russia a threat to the universal peace?
ii. What is the prospect of the occurrence inattention war?
iii. Should the world be concerned with the Russian armament process?
iv. Is the Russian armament process similar to the former USSR?
v. What is the role of Ukraine in the Russian Mission?
B. Dependent variable:
a. Ukrainian democracy
b. The Third World War
c. Global economic status
C. Independent variables:
a. Russian armament policy
b. Western intervention
The security relation between Ukraine and Russia threatens Ukrainian democracy and poses a threat to the occurrence of an inattention war. For this reason the intervention of the Western countries is essential because it affects the European region as well as the world. Specifically the Russian armament policy and the western intervention are the key determinant of the future of Ukraine and the world economic status. Ukraine is the major route through which the Russian gas is transported to other European countries such as Greece and Germany. However, with the continuing conflict, the transport route is at stake and the consumers may suffer a great deal due to transit disruption.
Section Four: Methodology
A. Sources for the Research:
Both primary and secondary data collection method will be used. However, most of the information will come from secondary sources specifically journal articles and governmental reports.
B. Detailed information about the sources
The research will rely on the primary sources such as official government statements, foreign ministry statements and the US State department documentaries to examine the security situation. Secondary sources will provide more information on the safety status in the Eastern Europe. Also it will review the intentions of the armament policy in Russian and provide historical outcomes of similar measures and outline the next stage of the international security status. For this reason, the secondary sources will provide evidence and justification for the involvement of the Western countries in Ukraine. Specifically, the research sources will examine the best position for countries such as the United States, England, France, and Germany.
The primary data will be mainly obtained from the US state department and foreign ministry statements of affected countries. The Telegraph for instance, provides reliable information on the security situation in Ukraine. It even provides a live coverage of the Ukrainian peace deal where leaders drawn from four different countries agreed on a global political settlement and a ceasefire. Foreign ministry statements such as ‘‘Lavrov, Kerry discuss Minsk deal to end Ukraine conflict -Russian Foreign Ministry’’ posted few weeks ago on Reuters will be a useful source. However, since some data might be unavailable due to restricted access and reluctance in expressing the country’s position on such a sensitive issue other governmental sources such as reports on the state of the global security will be used as supplements in this research. In addition, the opinion of safety experts and important scholars in the discipline of security studies and international relations will be important.
Section Five: Research Potential
I. The significance of the proposed research
The research is significant because it reveals the status of the international security through examining the most current issues such as the armament policy in Russia and the significance of Ukraine in the prospect of the global stability and energy problem. In addition, it shows the ideal action for the western countries based on their role in maintaining global peace, protecting human rights and the potential impact of the war on their economic status. These are the most important factors to base the argument on the international security and founding a standard policy or intervention strategy to handle the unstable situation in Ukraine and Russia.
II. The potential limitations in the proposed research
The research has the following limitations
a. Obtaining governmental opinion regarding the arming Ukraine is difficult because of the sensitivity of the issue
b. The Ukraine-Russian relationship is complicated and understanding the potential impact on the global, regional and local level requires more time than the available for the research
c. Historical comparison between the Russian armament policy and the former USSR may not have a similar impact.
d. The conflict is ongoing, therefore more news reports than journal articles, it is difficult to know who is telling the truth.
