The Dilemma of Buffer States in International Conflicts: Case Study of Ukraine
Why did the Ukrainian crisis develop so rapidly into the current situation? The well known version of the story is attributed to the expansion of NATO by annexing the republics of the former Soviet Union e.g. Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. But when that expansion reached the borders of Ukraine, we are facing the crisis of this magnitude… why Ukraine? To answer simply, Ukraine is a buffer state between major powers. What is a buffer state?
Dr. Ashraf Keshk, Senior Research Fellow