Стратегії асиметричної реінтеграції сепаратистських регіонів як метод врегулювання затяжних територіальних конфліктів

Vitaliy Makar; Lyudmyla Novoskoltseva

doi:10.31861/mhpi2026.53.16-25

Authors

Vitaliy Makar Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8994-4582
Lyudmyla Novoskoltseva Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1082-7979

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31861/mhpi2026.53.16-25

Keywords:

state sovereignty, reintegration policy, hybrid threats, institutional adaptation, security stabilization and social consolidation, UN, post-conflict territory management

Abstract

The increasing number of protracted territorial conflicts and the insufficiency of traditional control-based approaches necessitate the development of adaptive reintegration strategies that integrate security, legal, socio-economic, and humanitarian mechanisms for sustainable post-conflict recovery.

The purpose of the article is to substantiate the theoretical foundations and develop strategic approaches to the formation of an asymmetric reintegration model for separatist regions as an effective instrument for resolving protracted territorial conflicts and ensuring the gradual restoration of state sovereignty under conditions of post-conflict transformation.

Methods of systemic and comparative analysis of international reintegration experience, institutional analysis of post-conflict recovery processes, generalization of peacebuilding practices, and conceptual modeling of reintegration strategies were applied.

The evolution of scientific approaches to territorial conflict resolution was examined, and the transformation of the concept of reintegration from administrative territorial return to the restoration of functional statehood was established. International reintegration models were systematized, and key effectiveness factors of asymmetric strategies were identified. Conceptual principles for forming an asymmetric reintegration strategy considering security, institutional, socio-economic, and humanitarian dimensions were substantiated. Major scientific and practical challenges were revealed, including institutional asymmetry, transitional security risks, external hybrid influence, and social fragmentation of post-conflict societies. It was demonstrated that the asymmetric reintegration model enables the gradual restoration of state legitimacy and reduces the risk of renewed conflict escalation.

It was established that asymmetric reintegration represents an effective adaptive strategy for restoring territorial integrity based on phased governance decisions, security prioritization, restoration of public services, and socio-economic inclusion of the population. The necessity of institutionalizing reintegration policy as a long-term component of national security and post-war recovery policy was substantiated.

Author Biographies

Vitaliy Makar, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University

Doctor of Political Science, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of International Relations and Public Communications

Lyudmyla Novoskoltseva, Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University

Candidate of Political Science, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations

References

Alieksieichenko, O. (2024), “Viiny rf v Hruzii ta Ukraini ta yikh naslidky dlia mizhnarodnoi spilnoty” [The Russian Wars in Georgia and Ukraine and Their Consequences for the International Community], Visnyk Prykarpatskoho universytetu. Seriia: Politolohiia, 18, pp. 44–52, https://doi.org/10.32782/2312-1815/2024-18-4 [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2312-1815/2024-18-4

Chehtman, A. (2022), “Asymmetrical Warfare”, Richmond, O.P. and Visoka, G. (Eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies, Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 58–65, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77954-2_27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77954-2_27

De Coning, C., Saraiva, R. and Muto, A. (2023), Adaptive peacebuilding: A new approach to sustaining peace in the 21st century, Springer Nature, Cham, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18219-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18219-8

Federer, J.P., Giannone, M. and Mandell, B. (2025), “Introduction to special issue: Why it worked: Redefining “success” in conflict resolution and peace negotiations’, Negotiation Journal, 41, pp. 72–98, available at: http://direct.mit.edu/ngtn/article-pdf/doi/10.1162/ngtn_e_00022/2511520/ngtn_e_00022.pdf (accessed: 19 February 2026). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/ngtn_e_00022

Fostikova, V., Ryzhakova, G., Rubtsova, O., Reznik, N., Konchakivskyi, O., Kucherenko, O. and Havryliuk, Y. (2025), “Main Ways of Settlement of Military and Political Conflicts”, Hamdan, A. (Ed), Integrating Artificial Intelligence, Security for Environmental and Business Sustainability, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, pp. 983–997, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-91424-9_86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-91424-9_86

GOV.UK (1998), “The Belfast Agreement: An Agreement Reached at the Multi-Party Talks on Northern Ireland”, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-belfast-agreement (accessed: 19 February 2026).

Krasyniuk, V. F. (2024), “Mozhlyvi stsenarii rozvytku terytorialnykh hromad v pisliavoiennyi period” [Possible scenarios for the development of territorial communities in the post-war period], Politychne zhyttia, 4, pp. 49–54, https://doi.org/10.31558/2519-2949.2024.4.6, [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31558/2519-2949.2024.4.6

Makar, V.Yu. (2020), “Diaspora yak instytut publichnoi dyplomatii Ukrainy” [Diaspora as an Instrument of Public Diplomacy of Ukraine], Visnyk Prykarpatskoho universytetu. Seriia: Politolohiia, Issue 18, 2024, pp. 219–231, https://doi.org/10.32782/2312-1815/2024-18-21 [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2312-1815/2024-18-21

Makar, V.Yu. (2020), Dvostoronni vidnosyny Ukrainy ta Kanady: formuvannia, rozvytok, perspektyvy dynamiky, [Bilateral Relations Between Ukraine and Canada: Shaping, Evolution, Dynamics Prospects], Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Chernivtsi, 496 pp. [in Ukrainian].

Marandici, I. (2023), “Structural bias, polarized mediation and conflict resolution failure: a comparative examination of the disputes in Transnistria and Donbas”, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 23(1), pp. 89–113, https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2101188. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2101188

Nabiebu, M. (2025), “Ubuntu-Based Collective Responsibility and the Israeli-Hamas Conflict: A Case for Restorative Justice in Asymmetric Warfare”, Alkebulan: A Journal of West and East African Studies, 5(1), pp. 53–61, available at: http://gnosipublishers.com.ng/index.php/alkebulan/article/view/13 (accessed: 19 February 2026).

Novoskoltseva, L. O. (2025), “Separatyzm yak element stratehii rosiiskoi zovnishnoi polityky u viini proty Ukrainy” [Separatism as an element of russia’s foreign policy strategy in the war against Ukraine], Ukrainskyi polityko-pravovyi dyskurs, 10, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15207495 [in Ukrainian].

Prymakov, K.Yu. (2025), „Politychna mediatsiia v protsesi reintehratsii zvilnenykh terytorii” [Political Mediation in the Process of Reintegrating Liberated Territories], Ukrainskyi polityko-pravovyi dyskurs, 18, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17898425 [in Ukrainian].

Rzhevska, N.F. (2020), “Model reintehratsii okupovanykh terytorii Donbasu v konteksti svitovoi praktyky” [Reintegration model of occupied Donbass territories in the context of world practice], Politykus, 2, pp. 155–163, https://doi.org/10.24195/2414-9616-2020-2-155-162 [in Ukrainian] DOI: https://doi.org/10.24195/2414-9616-2020-2-155-162

Sarfati, A. and Donnelly, P. (2022), Protection dilemmas arising from the reintegration of former combatants and the impact of the terrorist designation, International Peace Institute, New York, available at: https://www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2201_Protection-Dilemmas.pdf (accessed: 19 February 2026).

Tan, E. (2022), “Decentralization and Conflict Prevention”, Richmond, O.P. and Visoka, G. (Eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies, Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 279–286, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77954-2_106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77954-2_106

United Nations Peacekeeping (1998), “United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES)”, available at: https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/past/untaes.htm (accessed: 19 February 2026).

United Nations Peacemaker (2005), “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement”, available at: https://peacemaker.un.org/indonesia-mouaceh2005 (accessed: 19 February 2026).

United Nations Peacemaker (2016), “Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace”, available at: https://peacemaker.un.org/en/node/9804 (accessed: 19 February 2026).

United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) (2017), “Guidance on Sustaining Peace”, available at: https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/Guidance-on-Sustaining-Peace.170117.final_.pdf (accessed: 19 February 2026).

World Bank, Government of Ukraine, European Union and United Nations (2023), Second Ukraine Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA2): February 2022 - February 2023. World Bank Group, Washington, D.C., available at: https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099184503212328877 (accessed: 19 February 2026).

Yatskevych, P.V. (2024), “Rehionalnyi separatyzm v Ukraini ta krainakh Yevropy” [Regional Separatism in Ukraine and European Countries], Naukovyi visnyk Khersonskoho derzhavnoho universytetu. Seriia “Yurydychni nauky”, 2, pp. 55–59, https://doi.org/10.32999/ksu2307-8049/2024-2-10 [in Ukrainian]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32999/ksu2307-8049/2024-2-10