Introduction to the Special Issue “The War in Ukraine and its Long- Term Consequences for Security and Human Rights”

Abstract

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has moved into its third year. While Russia’s invasion in February 2022 took many by surprise, so too did Ukraine’s resolute defense and the unity of the West in standing up to Moscow’s aggression. But how and when will this war end? And is it possible to rebuild European security?

This special issue of Security and Human Rights takes a long view on what has turned into a long war. In addition to this introduction, four substantive articles address a range of issues related to both security and human rights as well as the potential role of the OSCE in rebuilding a post-war security order. These articles, some of which have already appeared on the Security and Human Rights website, have been combined into a special issue to cluster several articles on the topic of Ukraine and how Russia’s invasion has had an impact on core issues that are covered by this journal such as human rights, the OSCE, as well as other topics that are relevant to the war in Ukraine and how to end it, such as sanctions.