Shielding Sovereignty: America's Defense of Democracy in Confronting Russian Aggression in Ukraine, 2014-2022

Abstract

This thesis examines the relationship between the United States’ response to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 under the Obama Administration and Russia’s subsequent full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The thesis contends that the absence of direct US weapons and military aid to Ukraine, the US’s deference to NATO allies in formulating policy response, and the inefficacy of economic statecraft in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea in 2014 combined to represent a missed opportunity to strengthen Ukrainian political and military forces against the threat of Russia. However, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Biden Administration has undertaken a successful campaign of weapons and military aid to Ukraine, which has enabled the successful defense of the Ukrainian homeland, a revitalization of our European alliances and NATO, and a strengthening of the American-led liberal international order (LIO). The US’s response to Putin’s war thus far indicates steadfast American resolve in upholding principles of democracy and territorial integrity, the backbone of American hegemony and NATO leadership in the post-Cold War era. This thesis demonstrates that continued US military, economic, and political support for Ukraine in its war against Russia is the optimal strategy in defending territorial sovereignty in Eastern Ukraine and the American-led liberal international order at large.