LEXINGTON, Va. March 5, 2026 — Col. J. Patrick Rhamey, professor in the Department of International Studies and Political Science at Virginia Military Institute, was a contributor to a recently published article on Ukraine in the peer-reviewed academic journal, International Studies Review (ISR). ISR is a journal of the International Studies Association and provides a window on current trends and research in international studies worldwide.

In the article titled, “Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Accounting for the Domestic Alongside the International,” Rhamey examines the overwhelming majority of analyses explaining the motivations for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine being not only wrong, but leading to terrible predictions of Russia’s inevitable success. 

“Politicians and cable news talking heads repeatedly granted Russia the mantle of a great power organizing their geographic space, though as we discussed in the article, Russia has not deserved that mantle since it was the Soviet Union. Consistently overlooked, however, is the role domestic politics and Putin’s internal political machinations play in Russia’s attack and continuing assault, as well as the power of Ukraine’s politics and identity in withstanding the Russian onslaught. International politics is not a big game of ‘Risk.’ The internal politics of countries has a dramatic impact on their foreign policy choices and, in war, their potential for victory,” explained Rhamey.

-VMI-