The cold peace; A study on the development of the geopolitical relationship be-tween the EU and RussiaThe cold peace; A study on the development of the geopolitical relationship be-tween the EU and Russia

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2021-04-09
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en
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The aim of this research is to gain an understanding how the geopolitical relationship between the EU and Russia developed the Cold War, answering the question: “How did the changes in geopolitical strategies of the EU and Russia influence the geopolitical relationship between the two entities since the end of the Cold War until 2019?”. The insights contribute to the existing knowledge on geopolitical relationships, Russophobia and Putinism and how these affect the geopolitical strategy of the entities. Through a thick description analysis, events from 1989 until 2019 have analysed. The results point out that the geopolitical behaviour in the period 2004 to 2007 and 2015 to 2019 has put the biggest pressure on the geopolitical relationship between the two. Based on this conclusion, one could state that the current relationship between the EU and Russia is influenced by Western/European mistrust in Russia and Russia’s focus on weakening Western/European states, institutions and organisations. Additionally, this study emphasised the challenges that are present in the field of geopolitics when identifying geopolitical relationships. Certain geopolitical relationships are too complex and cannot be identified as ‘friendly’ or ‘hostile’. Therefore, an all-encompassing classification of geopolitical relationships, more and different labels have to be defined.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen