Russian Legal and Normative Claims for its Intervention in the Syrian Conflict since 2015

Abstract

Abstract Scholarly analyses of Russian military intervention in the Syrian conflict since September 2015 have focused mainly on explanations for this unprecedented post–Cold War case of Russian power projection beyond former Soviet borders. Russian motivations have also been examined, as well as Moscow's complicated diplomacy around the conflict with other regionally influential states. However, one dimension of this intervention has attracted little scholarly attention, although it is significant for Russian domestic politics, for regional state conduct, and for the wider international system: the legal and normative claims Russia has advanced to justify this major use of force. This chapter argues that such claims matter and should not be interpreted simply in terms of realist theory, as the instrumental language of states in a world governed by geopolitics. Legal and normative arguments seek to legitimize actions internationally and domestically, and the traction they gain is important for states in that it promotes both their international status and influence. Russian arguments have sought to attract the support of states in its favor, as part of a wider contestation in the international system over law and norms.