Anti-government Non-state Armed Actors in the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine

Abstract

This article presents the main ANSA involved in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. It focusses on an analysis of the specific phenomenon of the opolchentsy - Narodnoe opolchenie Donbassa. The aim of this paper is to introduce and describe these actors and to ground them in certain theoretical conceptions. The paper also tracks the changing motivations of the various ANSA brought under the umbrella of the quasi-state actor NOD throughout the conflict, and the changing array of formations that made up the opolchenie during a particular period of time. Evidently, the opolchenie do not fit into the usual classifications of ANSA.