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Towards conflict or cooperation? The Ukraine crisis and EU-Russia relations

Nitoiu, Cristian (2016) Towards conflict or cooperation? The Ukraine crisis and EU-Russia relations. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 16 (3). pp. 375-390. ISSN 1468-3857

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Identification Number: 10.1080/14683857.2016.1193305

Abstract

The Ukraine crisis and Russia‘s contribution to it have raised numerous concerns regarding the possible emergence of a new ‘Cold War’ in Europe. At the same time, Ukraine’s popular choice and enthusiasm for European integration expressed clearly on the streets of Kyiv seems to have caused Russia to adopt a (neo)revisionist attitude. In this context, relations between Russia and the EU (and the West for that matter) have been frozen and been directed on path towards conflict. This article analyses how the traditional dichotomy between conflict and cooperation in EU-Russia relations was replaced by conflict in the context of the Ukraine crisis. The article contends that the breakdown of the symbolic and peaceful cohabitation between the EU and Russia has been influenced by the fact that both actors have chosen to ignore key tensions that characterised their post-Cold War interactions. The article identifies three such tensions: the first emphasises divisions between member states and their impact on coagulating a common EU approach towards Russia; the second (geopolitical) tension highlights the almost mutually exclusive way in which the EU and Russia’s security interests have developed in the post-Soviet space; finally, the third contends that a clash of values and worldviews between the EU and Russia makes conflict virtually unavoidable.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/fbss20/current
Additional Information: © 2016 Taylor & Francis
Divisions: IGA: LSE IDEAS
Subjects: J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia
Date Deposited: 28 Jun 2016 09:29
Last Modified: 26 Mar 2024 06:06
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/67022

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