Can thinking about Ukraine as an attempted buffer state since the Cold War nuance how we understand the domestic roots of Russia’s war?

In this episode, our colleague at the Center for War Studies Anne Ingemann Johansen:

• Shares new research on Ukraine’s post-independence history, based in part on newly uncovered material

• Explains how difficult internal Ukrainian politics and institutional weakness transformed a difficult balancing act as a buffer State into an explosive geopolitical arrangement.

• Argues that buffer states aren’t just passive zones — they actively shape great power competition

This episode draws on Anne’s work in the DFF-funded project Mind the Gap: Security Scholarship between Academia and Policy, 1978–2024.

Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay

Photo: Colourbox