The EU and Russia: Competing Discourses, Practices and Interests in the Shared Neighbourhood

This article analyses how the European Union (EU) and Russia perceive each other as regional players, by assessing their security-oriented policies towards the shared neighbourhood in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus, and delves into the impact those perceptions have on EU–Russia relations. It argues that both EU and Russian policies towards the region are built upon the belief that internal security starts outside their borders and, thus, the countries in the shared neighbourhood emerge as lynchpins in their internal and regional security strategies. In a mostly competing and mutually exclusive logic, the EU and Russia attempt to keep those countries in their own sphere of influence. Accordingly, commitments to European integration are generally seen by Moscow as a political loss, in the same way that a rapprochement towards Russia is usually perceived to constrain the EU's leverage in the region. This research is framed by a critical constructivist approach focusing on practices and discourses, thereby enabling a broader mapping of the dynamics resulting from the EU's and Russia's competing interests, perceptions and policies in the shared neighbourhood, and a deeper understanding of their impact on EU–Russia bilateral relations, particularly under the so-called strategic partnership.