The Russia–Ukraine War: asymmetry, levels of power, and the Minsk Accords

Lise Morjé Howard

Chapter 18 in Handbook on the Politics of International Agreements, 2026, pp 268-289 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter examines how power asymmetries shape international peace agreements, using the Russia–Ukraine war and the Minsk Accords as a central case. The chapter conceptualizes three levels of asymmetric dyads: (1) separatists–Ukraine, (2) Ukraine–Russia, and (3) Russia–the West. The weaker actor at each level “borrows” power from the stronger patrons at the next level up, in order to offset material and ideational disadvantages. It shows how earlier Russia–Ukraine agreements (1991, 1992, 1994, 1997) and Minsk I and II failed because they lacked enforcement mechanisms, or ways to offset power imbalances. They also obscured Russia's role as a belligerent and focused narrowly on the sub-national dispute, while ignoring the core interstate conflict between Russia and Ukraine over Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial independence. The analysis identifies Russian imperial ambitions, NATO/EU enlargement, and Ukraine's long-standing pursuit of independence as key drivers and draws broader lessons for designing international agreements in asymmetric, multilevel conflicts.

Keywords: Russia; Ukraine War; Minsk I and II; Power Asymmetry; Asymmetric Dyads; Levels of Analysis; International Peace Agreements (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035318582
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