Russia - Ukraine Conflict (RUC): Asymmetric Yet Intractable

Abstract

The article is an exploratory attempt to examine that the RussiaUkraine Conflict (RUC), despite being asymmetric in nature, is an intractable one or that it is just en route towards intractability. The readers with little knowledge in peace and conflict studies and international relations would not, perhaps, be wonderstruck by the fact that asymmetric conflicts can also be intractable in nature, notwithstanding the fact that conflict history provides infrequent examples of such phenomenon. As empiricism reveals, only two 
conflicts, i.e., the Israel-Palestine conflict (1948) and the Indo-Pakistan Kashmir dispute (1948) fall within this category. Excepting time factor, the RUC meets up all the criteria that have mutated the two mentioned conflicts from asymmetricity to intractability. The bulk of the paper, therefore, concentrates on juxtaposing the proven phenomenon of intractability of IsraelPalestine and Kashmir conflicts in case of RUC in order to address the above stated research query. The time factor is compensated by a very critical negative factor – the failure of all diplomatic efforts to end the current conflict. In other words, the RUC is not acquiescent to any peaceful diplomatic gesture from any quarter for its resolution. These are ample indications to prognosticate the future intractability in case of RUC.