Subversion in the Shadows: Russian utilization of soft power in counteraction of European Sanctions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.1095Keywords:
interdependency, Russia-Ukraine conflict, SanctionsAbstract
This essay examines the effectiveness of European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and highlights some of the challenges the EU has faced in applying sanctions to achieve policy change within the Russian government. This essay goes on to argue that, despite the EU's desire to apply pressure through sanctions and the sanctions' legal formidability, Russia's subtle utilization of interdependence and soft power has decreased sanction effectiveness. This essay describes the method of Russia's effort to evade sanctions and outlines sanction evasion as one of the key facts sustaining the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. Hence, this essay concludes that Russian resilience to economic measures makes clear the need for more suitable measures capable of effectively addressing the challenges that aggressive military powers pose to the liberal world order.
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