TITLE:
Russia-Ukraine War and the Rise of Contemporary Geoeconomics: The Transformation of Military and Economic Power
AUTHORS:
Giorgi Kvinikadze
KEYWORDS:
Geoeconomics, Economic Statecraft, Military Strategy, Strategic Competition, Russia-Ukraine War
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Political Science,
Vol.16 No.4,
October
20,
2026
ABSTRACT: This article examines the Russia-Ukraine war as a case of the growing integration of military and geoeconomic strategies in contemporary international relations. Drawing on a qualitative case-study approach, it analyzes four interconnected dimensions of geoeconomic confrontation: sanctions, financial restrictions, technology controls, and the geographical reorientation of Russia’s external economic relations. The findings demonstrate that geoeconomic instruments have become increasingly important in shaping the conditions under which military power is sustained and exercised. However, the evidence does not support the replacement of military power by geoeconomic power. Instead, the study proposes the concept of the geoeconomic expansion of military strategy and argues that contemporary conflict is increasingly shaped by their interaction.