The brutal new Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has led to widespread allegations of genocide. Exploring the limitations of the dominant legal framings of the crime, Martin Shaw will discuss the relationships between President Putin’s ideology, which many have argued shows genocidal intent, and Russia’s strategic plans for Ukraine. He will argue that in a socio-historical perspective, the genocide question should be examined within the dynamic relationships of military escalation and genocidal radicalisation after the failure of Russia’s original plans. The lecture will conclude with some reflections on the implication of the current military-political situation for this side of the conflict.

Martin Shaw is Research Professor at IBEI and Emeritus Professor of Sussex University, UK. He is the author of War and Genocide, What is Genocide, Genocide in International Relations and has recently published “Russia’s Genocidal War in Ukraine: Radicalization and Social Destruction”, which is openly available online from the Journal of Genocide Research.