Identities and Foreign Policies in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus: The Other Europes (One Europe or Several?)

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. 'Europe' and the Post-Soviet Republics Since 1991 \* The Baltic states came under the Phare programme after 1992. \*\* Includes regional programmes/projects (Track1) for Central Asia countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). \*\*\* Includes the inter-state, nuclear safety and cross-border cooperation programmes (and Baltic Sea programmes up to 2002). What does 'belonging to Europe' mean for the European Union's eastern neighbours? Over the past two decades, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus have experienced dramatic and sometimes bitterly contested changes in their relations with the European Union and with each other. Marking a decisive step forward in the literature, White and Feklyunina explain the major shifts in the foreign policies of these three countries by tracing their identity debates throughout the post-Soviet period. Based on extensive empirical research over more than a decade, including interviews, focus groups and national surveys as well as printed sources in several languages, this field-defining study demonstrates how the divergent articulations of identity vis--vis 'Europe' in the three countries, coupled with divergent views of Europe and the EU, shape their foreign policy preferences in a 'Europe' that is reconsidering its own boundaries and place in a changing world. What does 'belonging to Europe' mean for the European Union's eastern neighbours? Over the past two decades, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus have experienced dramatic and sometimes bitterly contested changes in their relations with the European Union and with each other. Marking a decisive step forward in the literature, White and Feklyunina explain the major shifts in the foreign policies of these three countries by tracing their identity debates throughout the post-Soviet period. Based on extensive empirical research over more than a decade, including interviews, focus groups and national surveys as well as printed sources in several languages, this field-defining study demonstrates how the divergent articulations of identity vis-a-vis 'Europe' in the three countries, coupled with divergent views of Europe and the EU, shape their foreign policy preferences in a 'Europe' that is reconsidering its own boundaries and place in a changing world Front Matter....Pages i-x Other ‘Europes’....Pages 1-29 Negotiating a Relationship....Pages 31-49 ‘Europe’ and the Post-Soviet Republics Since 1991....Pages 51-98 Russia and ‘Europe’: Elite Discourses....Pages 99-134 Ukraine and ‘Europe’: Elite Discourses....Pages 135-161 Belarus and ‘Europe’: Elite Discourses....Pages 163-186 Mass Publics and Foreign Policy Preferences....Pages 187-228 Conclusion: Identities and Foreign Policies in the Other Europes....Pages 229-270 Back Matter....Pages 271-350 This book maps changing definitions of statehood in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus as a result of their exclusion from an expanding Europe. The authors examine the perceptions of the place of each state in the international political system and its foreign policy choices, and draw comparisons across the region.