Ukraine in the crossfire / Chris Kaspar de Ploeg.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed May 31, 2017)

"Ukraine in the Crossfire tackles the importance of ultranationalist violence during and after the EuroMaidan movement, and documents how many of these groups are heirs to former Nazi-collaborators. It shows how the Ukrainian state has seized on the ultranationalist war-rhetoric to serve its own agenda, clamping down on civil liberties on a scale unprecedented since Ukrainian independence. De Ploeg argues that Kiev itself has been the biggest obstacle to peace in Donbass, with multiple leaks suggesting that Washington is using its financial leverage to push a pro-war line in Ukraine. With the nation's eyes turned towards Russia, the EU and IMF have successfully pressured Ukraine into adopting far-reaching austerity programs, while oligarchic looting of state assets and massive tax-avoidance facilitated by Western states continue unabated. De Ploeg documents the local roots of the Donbass rebellion, the overwhelming popularity of Crimea's secession, and shows that support for Ukraine's pro-western turn remains far from unanimous, with large swathes of Ukraine's Russophone population opting out of the political process. Nevertheless, De Ploeg argues, the pro-Western and pro-Russian camps are often similar: neoliberal, authoritarian, nationalist and heavily dependent on foreign support. In a wider exploration of Russo-Western relations, he examines similarities between the contemporary Russian state and its NATO counterparts, showing how the two power blocs have collaborated in some of their worst violent excesses. A far cry from civilizational or ideological clashes, De Ploeg argues that the current tensions flow from NATO's military dominance and aggressive posture, both globally and within post-Soviet space, where Russia seeks to defend the status-quo"--Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prologue -- A divided country -- The return of the Wolfsangel -- The militarization of Maidan -- Far-right backed regime change -- Oligarch-backed regime change -- Western-backed regime change -- Dismantling Ukraine -- The answer from the East -- The troubled clouds of a civil war darken the landscape of Ukraine -- The war on the people of Donbass -- Dehumanizing the Donbass, embracing the far-right -- Beyond populism : assessing the influence of the far-right -- Repression and diversion in divided Ukraine -- The imperial desire for war -- Western military doctrine and the normalization of war crimes -- Seeing beyond the imperial divide -- Divisions on the Western Front? -- Cold War politics in the age of Trump.

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