Russia's attacks on civilians strengthen Ukrainian resistance

Henrikas Bartusevičius; Florian Van Leeuwen; Honorata Mazepus; Lasse Laustsen; Andreas Forø Tollefsen

doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad386

Russia's attacks on civilians strengthen Ukrainian resistance

Henrikas Bartusevičius^*, Florian Van Leeuwen, Honorata Mazepus, Lasse Laustsen, Andreas Forø Tollefsen

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Institut for Statskundskab

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avis › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

2 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

The all-out Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing in February 2022 has been characterized by systematic violence against civilians. Presumably, the commanders of Russian forces believe that, for example, the bombing of residential buildings will force Ukrainians to lay down their arms. We ask whether military attacks against civilians deter or, in contrast, motivate resistance against the attackers. Two-wave probability surveys were collected in Ukraine in March and April 2022 (Ns = 1,081 and 811, respectively). Preregistered analyses indicate that perceptions and experience of military attacks (victimization) did not decrease Ukrainians' motivations to resist the invading forces. The analyses suggest that victimization positively relates to motivations to join military combat in defense positions. Military attacks against civilians are morally impermissible and prohibited under international humanitarian law. Our results suggest that such attacks are also counterproductive from a military perspective.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Artikelnummer	pgad386
Tidsskrift	PNAS Nexus
Vol/bind	2
Nummer	12
Antal sider	5
ISSN	2752-6542
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad386
Status	Udgivet - 1 dec. 2023

Emneord

Resistance
Ukraine
Victimization
Violence
War

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10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad386Licens: CC BY

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Citationsformater

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AU - Bartusevičius, Henrikas

AU - Van Leeuwen, Florian

AU - Mazepus, Honorata

AU - Laustsen, Lasse

AU - Forø Tollefsen, Andreas

PY - 2023/12/1

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N2 - The all-out Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing in February 2022 has been characterized by systematic violence against civilians. Presumably, the commanders of Russian forces believe that, for example, the bombing of residential buildings will force Ukrainians to lay down their arms. We ask whether military attacks against civilians deter or, in contrast, motivate resistance against the attackers. Two-wave probability surveys were collected in Ukraine in March and April 2022 (Ns = 1,081 and 811, respectively). Preregistered analyses indicate that perceptions and experience of military attacks (victimization) did not decrease Ukrainians' motivations to resist the invading forces. The analyses suggest that victimization positively relates to motivations to join military combat in defense positions. Military attacks against civilians are morally impermissible and prohibited under international humanitarian law. Our results suggest that such attacks are also counterproductive from a military perspective.

AB - The all-out Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing in February 2022 has been characterized by systematic violence against civilians. Presumably, the commanders of Russian forces believe that, for example, the bombing of residential buildings will force Ukrainians to lay down their arms. We ask whether military attacks against civilians deter or, in contrast, motivate resistance against the attackers. Two-wave probability surveys were collected in Ukraine in March and April 2022 (Ns = 1,081 and 811, respectively). Preregistered analyses indicate that perceptions and experience of military attacks (victimization) did not decrease Ukrainians' motivations to resist the invading forces. The analyses suggest that victimization positively relates to motivations to join military combat in defense positions. Military attacks against civilians are morally impermissible and prohibited under international humanitarian law. Our results suggest that such attacks are also counterproductive from a military perspective.

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KW - Ukraine

KW - Victimization

KW - Violence

KW - War

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Russia's attacks on civilians strengthen Ukrainian resistance

Abstract

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