Introduction: Special Issue On The Political Economy Of The War In Ukraine

In February 2022, Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Ukrainians have withstood the Russian invasion, as well as commenced an ambitious reconstruction plan with tremendous support, especially from liberal democracies. Ukraine’s defense against a much larger foe, and its fight for democracy and autonomy against a warmongering former superpower, made Ukraine the world’s beacon for freedom and justice. Our goals in this special issue are to better understand how Ukraine has withstood Russia’s aggression and, perhaps more importantly, to offer insight into how Ukraine can win the war and the ongoing reconstruction. The articles were selected with the idea that multidisciplinary perspectives are useful to understand the nature and consequences of the War in Ukraine. The authors each share the view that public choice, consistently applied, offers insight into war and reconstruction in Ukraine, as well as some insight into the sources of Russia’s warmongering. War is devastating, complicated, and multifaceted. To introduce the special issue, we begin by clarifying what is meant by the War in Ukraine (when it began and why we refer to it as such), as well as the costs of the war, the Ukrainian movement for democracy, and the reconstruction of Ukraine.