The EU's Response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Invoking Norms and Values in Times of Fundamental Rupture

Giselle Bosse*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The European Union's response to the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has been widely perceived as unprecedented. This article examines how this could be, considering the long track record of disagreement amongst EU member states over foreign policy vis-a-vis Russia. It is argued that whilst the Russian invasion had a decisive impact on member states' security threat perceptions, realist explanations of the EU's forceful response encounter limitations: Germany and France, the EU's most influential powers, were not the drivers of the EU's joint actions during the first months following the invasion, as they struggled to redefine their national security interests. Against this background, this article takes a different perspective. It asks in what kind of intersubjective context the EU's initial response became meaningful and rational, allowing for agreement to emerge amongst the member states on a set of unprecedented measures. This article proposes a theoretical approach that takes into account the role of norms, rationalities and speech acts in a changing context and of social interaction therein. It is demonstrated that, given the dramatic rupture following the invasion, the EU's response in 2022 was embedded in, and structured by, a priori understandings and justifications generated by the EU in response to Russia's war against Ukraine starting in 2014, including normative considerations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1222-1238
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Common Market Studies
Volume62
Issue number5
Early online date14 Dec 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2024

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The EU's Response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Invoking Norms and Values in Times of Fundamental Rupture'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this