ABSTRACT
The United Nations’ (UN) engagement on Ukraine has been profoundly inadequate. Apart from the UN Secretary-General offering his good offices and support for humanitarian and judicial efforts, the UN has failed to put forward any concrete peace proposals. The second Trump administration in the US has upended the European diplomatic strategy, tipping the balance in favor of the Russian Federation. Any hopes or scenarios envisioning Ukraine regaining its territory now seem far-fetched. Even so, with consequential peace negotiations yet to begin, European and Ukrainian diplomacy have some remaining options. Ukraine could continue its military efforts with European support to shift the dynamics on the ground and sway the pendulum in its favor. If Europe were to commit to support Ukraine, there is an option – for the UN as well – that offers some partial guidance, many important lessons, and warnings for a European and even Ukrainian position on Donbas: international territorial administration (ITA). ITAs have long featured in peace agreements in the past as an option to manage conflicting sovereignty claims and disputed territories, recently in ex-Yugoslavia, that have produced some of the most far-reaching, consequential – and for some highly controversial – ITAs. This chapter explores these options by examining past ITAs.
