A Clash of Civilizations in Ukraine? Not Quite (original) (raw)

RUSSIA/UKRAINE: FROM WAR TO PEACE ? (FULL TEXT)

Samuel Huntington was wrong. The new wars are not between civilizations but between those who believe in the clash of civilizations and those who think that universal values really exist. Vladimir Putin and the Russians who support him belong to the first group. In their view, it is legitimate to disregard international law in the name of the integration of the Russian-speaking part of Ukraine into Russia. Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the “Maidan generation” belong to the second group. It is in the name of justice and human dignity that a country gathers together today to create a bi-lingual Nation-State. The key to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine lies in the differing mythologies of the two peoples. The understanding of this key opens the door to finding solutions to the war between Russia and Ukraine. The international community has an essential role to play. But this calls for rapid and resolute action and a willingness to accept to reexamine the question of the spiritual foundations of democracy and international law. This book was published in France in June 2014 and received the Gregoire Orlyk prize of Ukrainian Perspectives in the French Senate. It was completed in November 2014 for its translation into Russian and, in February 2015, for its translation into English. A translation into Ukrainian is being prepared. Antoine Arjakovsky has a doctorate in history. He is the co-director of the research department “Soci-ety, Liberty, Peace” at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris. He lived in Russia for nearly 20 years and in Ukraine from 1989 to 2011. He was director at the French University College of Moscow, the French In-stitute at Kiev and the Institute of Ecumenical Studies at Lviv. He has collaborated with different media out-lets such as France 24, ARTE, i-télé, LCI, Le Figaro, le Monde, La Croix, Libération, Ukraine Today, ABC, etc…