The Jewish Diaspora and the Russo-Ukrainian Crisis
Two questions arise when the role of a diaspora in crisis is considered. Do diasporas embody an internal threat to the security of the nation state? And why do some efforts to use diasporas as a tool of international politics succeed while others fail? In this paper, the Ukrainian 2014-2015 crisis involving Russia is analyzed in order to suggest answers to these questions. The author examines the political reactions of a specific diaspora group: the Jews in Ukraine and Russia.
The author finds that the diaspora became divided across the fault-line of a clash between the two states, Russia and Ukraine. She concludes that, ultimately, the political power of the diasporas in Russia and Ukraine is limited, and cannot really diverge from the political line of the host state. Concerning the diaspora-host-homeland relational triangle, the paper suggests that the neutral position of Ukraine toward Israel allows more freedom for diaspora organizations to advance an independent political agenda, while the difference in foreign-policy goals between Israel and Russia means that the diaspora organizations have no choice, but to limit their political activism to the permitted cultural-economic spheres.
Download the full analysis
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
The Jewish Diaspora and the Russo-Ukrainian Crisis
Author(s)
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programs
Russia/Eurasia Center
Founded in 2005 within Ifri, the Russia/Eurasia Center conducts research and organizes debates on Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. Its goal is to understand and anticipate the evolution of this complex and rapidly changing geographical area in order to enrich public discourse in France and Europe and to assist in strategic, political, and economic decision-making.
Find out more
Discover all our analyses
Moldova’s Foreign Policy after 2024 Presidential Elections: Staying on the EU Path, Moving Eastwards or Becoming Multi-vector?
The future of Moldova’s foreign agenda will undergo a stress test during the upcoming presidential elections on October 20, 2024.
The Black Sea: Rivalries, Risks, and European Security
With the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and then the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has sought to strengthen its control over the Black Sea; but certain NATO and EU member states also have coastlines along this stretch of water.
Russian Strategic Thinking and Culture Before and After February 24, 2022: Political-Strategic Aspects
Written by Dimitri Minic, the scientific article "Russian Strategic Thinking and Culture Before and After February 24, 2022: Political-Strategic Aspects" in Russia’s war against Ukraine: Complexity of Contemporary Clausewitzian War by the National Defence University Department of Warfare, Helsinki 2024.
Russia and the New BRICS Countries: Potentials and Limitations of a Scientific and Technological Cooperation
At the fifteenth BRICS summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22 to 24, 2023, a resolution was adopted to extend an invitation to six new countries to join the organization: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All of these countries except Argentina duly became members of BRICS in 2024, with the expanded group known as BRICS+. In addition to the political and economic advantages, it is assumed that the incorporation of these new countries could potentially facilitate their scientific and technological development.