European Identities and Foreign Policy Discourses on Russia: From the Ukraine to the Syrian Crisis

Description

This book examines the relationship between national identity construction and current foreign policy discourses on Russia in selected European Union member states in 2014–2018. It shows that divergent national discourses on Russia derive from the different ways in which the country was constructed in national identity. The book develops an interpretive theoretical framework and argues that policy makers’ agency can profoundly influence the contestation between different identity narratives. It includes case studies in policy areas that are of primary importance for EU–Russia relations, such as energy security (the Nord Stream 2 controversy), the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s military intervention in Syria. Focusing on EU member states that have traditionally taken different stances vis-à-vis Russia (Germany, Poland and Finland), it shows that at the peak of the Ukraine crisis national discourses converged towards a pragmatic, but critical narrative. As the Ukraine crisis subsided and new events took centre stage in foreign policy discussions (i.e. the Syrian civil war, international terrorism), long-standing and identity-based divergences partly re-emerged in the discourses of policy makers. This became particularly evident during the Nord Stream 2 controversy. Deep-rooted and different perceptions of the Russian Other in EU member states are still influential and lead to divergent national agendas for foreign policy towards Russia. This book will be of interest to students and scholars working in European and EU politics, Russian and Soviet politics, and International Relations. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface List of abbreviations Chapter 1: Identity, memory and the Russian Other Nations, national identity and collective memory The politics of memory and national identity Russia as Europe’s Other Structure of the book Notes Chapter 2: Identity and foreign policy: a discourse-historical approach Identity and International Relations Theory Identity, interests and foreign policy in constructivist research The discursive relationship between identity and foreign policy Discourse-historical analysis Selection of national discursive arenas and case studies State leaders’ public statements as primary sources Conclusion Notes Chapter 3: The historic construction of German, Polish and Finnish identities and their Russian Other The historic construction of German identity The contested nature of the Russian Other in German discourses The historic construction of Polish identity Poland’s nemesis: the Russian Other The historic construction of Finnish identity Russia in Finnish discourses: economic Conclusion: national identities and historical discourses as interpretive frameworks Notes Chapter 4: Confronting the Russian Other – the Ukraine crisis Introduction The Ukraine crisis and EU–Russia relations Germany: rethinking Ostpolitik? Condemning Russia’s violations of international law in Crimea and Donbass Return to Ostpolitik? Managing a protracted crisis The return of the ‘Russian threat’ in Polish discourse Sanctions and security: Poland’s response to the Ukraine crisis in 2014 The radicalisation of Civic Platform discourses in 2015 ‘A worse threat than Isis’: Law and Justice and the Russian Other Finland: security concerns and dialogue with Russia Countering Russia’s illegal actions through diplomacy Pragmatism and the isolation of the Ukraine Conclusion Chapter 5: The EU's discursive strife on Nord Stream 2 Introduction The Nord Stream 2 project Germany: defending a commercial project in line with European rules Poland: Nord Stream 2 as a hybrid weapon to divide Europe The Finnish debate: economics and the environment trump security concerns Drivers of the Nord Stream 2 dispute: identity or material factors? Conclusion Notes Chapter 6: The Russian Other in the Syrian crisis and MENA geopolitics Introduction Russia and the EU from the Arab Spring to the Syrian crisis German discourses: criticism of Russian intervention and the quest for a political solution The Polish stance: keeping the focus Finnish discourses: from tentative cooperation to humanitarian tragedy Conclusion Conclusion: (Dis)united we stand? National discourses and the Russian Other, 2014–2018 A social constructivist approach to foreign policy analysis The historic construction of the Russian Other in German, Finnish and Polish identities The Ukraine crisis: the return of the Russian threat? Europe (re)divided: the Nord Stream 2 debate Tentative cooperation and new tensions: the Syrian crisis Towards a shared European discourse on the Russian Other? Bibliography Index