THE WAR AS A RESULT OF THE FRAGILE PEACE: THE CONCEPTUAL LOGIC OF WAR

Abstract

In times of war, the theoretical problems of the essence of war and peace acquire a practical dimension. The experience of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which became a key factor in changes in the international security system, requires understanding. The full-scale and unprovoked invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, as well as the further development of the conflict, dramatically changed the international community's perception of the stability of peace in Europe. The war prompted a revision of the assumptions about the nature of modern conflicts. Assumptions about a reduction in the weight of traditional means of warfare turned out to be premature. At the same time, non-kinetic military tools, in particular cognitive ones, retain their weight. This article aims at defining the semantic logic of war and peace as relative concepts considered in a single conceptual space. The basic concept in this relationship is war, and peace is its conventional consequence. An analysis of the discursive implementation of both concepts allows us to project them onto political processes and determine the status of war and peace as reality. Particular attention is paid to the power of discourse. In conclusion, the authors propose a Ukrainian Peace Strategy project, with 12 points representing the Ukrainian vision of the goals necessary to end the war.

Keywords

• russian-ukrainian war
• narrative
• power of discourse
• war discourse
• peace strategy