War as a Product of Capitalism: Case of the Russo-Ukrainian War

Abstract

This thesis analyses the Russo-Ukrainian War through the prism of a political-economic approach based on a historical-materialist framework that foregrounds the role of material conditions in understanding the causes of wars. While mainstream academic debate mostly interprets this conflict within the scope of geopolitical tensions between Russia and NATO, this study explores socio-economic factors that propel states towards armed confrontation. The peculiarity of the approach lies in its emphasis on the economic motivations obscured by dominant political narratives and ideological justifications. By grounding analysis in the Clausewitzian philosophy of war and the Marxist-Leninist theory of imperialism, this work contributes to the understanding of warfare as a continuation of economic competition through the application of military force. The existing literature contains a wide spectrum of interpretations regarding the political-economic origins of this war, but despite the rich conceptual and historical analysis, it also reveals the lack of detailed empirical studies that could provide compelling evidence in favour of predominantly theoretical statements. The present research aims to fill this gap by systematically examining the economic interests of major capitalist states involved in the...