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  • "This paper takes Belarus as a case study to consider patterns of cooperation and conflict between Russia and the EU in the “common neighbourhood.” It examines the ways that Belarus under Alexander Lukashenko has exploited competition between the EU and Russia to extract subsidies which have helped to sustain the regime. The paper begins by examining why Belarus’s relations with Russia have become characterized by cycles of conflict and engagement. Integration with Belarus represents an important part of Russia’s efforts to maintain regional hegemony. On the other hand, the relationship is also perceived as a burden which provides resources for the Belarusian regime’s survival with little benefit to Moscow. The contradictions of this approach have been further sharpened by the Customs Union. It is argued that Belarus has provoked further conflict with Russia by adopting an increasingly instrumental approach to integration. The assertion of loyalty or independence can be seen as a form of “sovereignty entrepreneurship,” which recalls the ethnic bargaining of Russia’s regions in the 1990s. When Russia has sought to reduce subsidies, Belarus has responded by threatening to diversify its foreign policy and seeks other partners. However, the inconsistencies of Lukashenko’s foreign policy mask a deeper continuity—the consolidation of Belarusian statehood and identity as an independent state. The dilemma for the EU—which has an interest in promoting Belarusian sovereignty—is that this has been conducted within the context of an authoritarian system. Both the EU and Russia are seeking to shape Belarus’s domestic normative environment. The implication of EU policy is that Belarus needs to discover (or recover) its European identity, which has been suppressed by its Soviet heritage and the current regime. The rational for integration with Russia is a common history and cultural affinities as part of a single Slavic civilizational space. Behind these competing approaches is an implied struggle for Belarusian identity which, because it is cast in terms of geopolitical choice, is liable to lead to polarization between Russia and the EU. In the long term, the consolidation of Belarusian statehood is likely to lead to further differentiation from Russia. However, the failure of the nationalist opposition to harness falling support for Lukashenko’s regime suggests that a change of government will not necessarily lead to the immediate “Europeanization” of Belarus. This suggests that the EU needs to re-calibrate its policy to be more sensitive to the needs of Belarusian society, rather than making it the object of broader strategic rivalries." [author's abstract] (xsd:string)
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  • 2012 (xsd:gyear)
?:datePublished
  • 2012 (xsd:gyear)
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  • true (xsd:boolean)
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  • en (xsd:string)
?:issn
  • 1611-7034 ()
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  • Playing Both Sides: Belarus between Russia and the EU (xsd:string)
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  • Arbeitspapier (xsd:string)
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  • GESIS-SSOAR (xsd:string)
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  • urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-350228 ()
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  • 2 (xsd:string)