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- East European studies, International Relations, Political communication, European Foreign Policy, Russian Foreign Policy, EU institutions, EU foreign policy, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, securitization, and 4 moreUkraine (History), Russian-Ukrainian Relations, Ukrainian Foreign Policy, and Ukraineedit
- Master of Arts: East European Studies (EES) Online
Master Thesis: "Political communication and diplomacy - EU-Russia relations in the light of Ukraine crisis" (2015)edit
Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht, ob Gewalt in Paarbeziehungen queer-theoretisch bearbeitet werden kann. Anhand des radikal-feministischen, konstruktivistischen Ansatzes von Judith Butler möchte ich zeigen, dass eine queer-theoretisch... more
Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht, ob Gewalt in Paarbeziehungen queer-theoretisch bearbeitet werden kann. Anhand des radikal-feministischen, konstruktivistischen Ansatzes von Judith Butler möchte ich zeigen, dass eine queer-theoretisch verortete Analyse von Gewalt in Paarbeziehungen andere Reflexionsgrundlagen für die Erforschung von Gewalt im Kontext der Konstruktion der Geschlechtsidentität und ihrer Konstituierung innerhalb eines Feldes von Machtbeziehungen und Normen eröffnet.
Research Interests:
Since the ceasefire of the Minsk agreement (Minsk II), media, politics and scholars debate EU-diplomacy concerning the concessions Minks II made towards Russia. Reflecting EU-Russia-relations, the Ukraine-crisis was not a surprise (see... more
Since the ceasefire of the Minsk agreement (Minsk II), media, politics and scholars debate EU-diplomacy concerning the concessions Minks II made towards Russia.
Reflecting EU-Russia-relations, the Ukraine-crisis was not a surprise (see Mearsheimer 2014, Dias 2013). In a long-term perspective, a contradiction appears between Russia’s confirmations of EU-norms and values as mutually shared principles on one hand, and a “fundamental ideological difference” on the other hand (Faw 2010:40, see Monaghan 2013:5pp). Regarding academic research, the problem is not new but still relevant (see Timmermann 2005, The Council of the European Union 2010, Poyraz 2011, Maliukevičius 2013). The Ukraine-crisis challenges relations between EU and Russia. What path will EU and Russia tread?
Picking up on the hint at ideological differences, the thesis questions:
Why does the Ukraine-crisis challenge EU-Russian-relations? Where do the challenges originate? What are their underlying reasons?
The recent crisis in Ukraine can be seen as a challenge of EU-standards in EU-Russian-relations, regarding their implications for EU-diplomacy concerning power and balance of interests in a globalized world. The Ukraine-crisis underlines the role of the Ukraine as a buffer zone at the peak of mutual misunderstanding between EU and Russia.
In the theoretical framework of power/knowledge and discourse after Michel Foucault (1972, 1980), the Master Thesis analyses key concepts of official discourse in EU-Russian relations. With Foucault’s notion of power and picking up on the hint at ideological differences, core concepts of EU-standards, such as democracy, multipolarity, rule of law and modernization, can be “unpacked” in the logic of ‘truth of power’, comparatively or contrasting to the Russian ‘truth of power’.
The research design of qualitative discourse analysis focuses on official resources of EU- and Russian policies in the timeframe of Vladimir Putin’s first presidency in 2000 up to today, concentrating on values and norms as given EU-standard. The Ukraine will be considered in the context of analysis, while the role of the U.S. is given marginal attention, in order to keep the frame of a master thesis.
Michel Foucault himself gave methodological precautions, but not a methodology to put discourse analysis into practice (see ibid. 1980, see Jørgensen/Phillips 2002). Consequently, the methodology of this discourse analysis refers to Laclau and Mouffee’s conception of nodal points and floating signifiers in the framework of their discourse theory, which follows core aspects of Foucault’s approach (see Laclau and Mouffee 1985).1 In order to examine the core assumption, EU-standards, challenged in EU-Russian-relations in the course of the Ukraine-crisis, will be analysed.
EU-standard concepts chosen for analysis are: democracy, multipolarity, rule of law and modernization.
These will be analysed with Laclau and Mouffee’s conception of nodal points and floating signifiers. Data will be collected (official resources), the comprehension of the respective EU- standard concept by each side, Russia and EU, will be examined and verified by examples.
The outcome will be discussed against the theoretical background of a “truth of power”, regarding implications for EU-diplomacy towards Russia and Ukraine’s role as a buffer zone concerning power and balance in a globalized world. Future perspectives of academic research will be envisaged.
Reflecting EU-Russia-relations, the Ukraine-crisis was not a surprise (see Mearsheimer 2014, Dias 2013). In a long-term perspective, a contradiction appears between Russia’s confirmations of EU-norms and values as mutually shared principles on one hand, and a “fundamental ideological difference” on the other hand (Faw 2010:40, see Monaghan 2013:5pp). Regarding academic research, the problem is not new but still relevant (see Timmermann 2005, The Council of the European Union 2010, Poyraz 2011, Maliukevičius 2013). The Ukraine-crisis challenges relations between EU and Russia. What path will EU and Russia tread?
Picking up on the hint at ideological differences, the thesis questions:
Why does the Ukraine-crisis challenge EU-Russian-relations? Where do the challenges originate? What are their underlying reasons?
The recent crisis in Ukraine can be seen as a challenge of EU-standards in EU-Russian-relations, regarding their implications for EU-diplomacy concerning power and balance of interests in a globalized world. The Ukraine-crisis underlines the role of the Ukraine as a buffer zone at the peak of mutual misunderstanding between EU and Russia.
In the theoretical framework of power/knowledge and discourse after Michel Foucault (1972, 1980), the Master Thesis analyses key concepts of official discourse in EU-Russian relations. With Foucault’s notion of power and picking up on the hint at ideological differences, core concepts of EU-standards, such as democracy, multipolarity, rule of law and modernization, can be “unpacked” in the logic of ‘truth of power’, comparatively or contrasting to the Russian ‘truth of power’.
The research design of qualitative discourse analysis focuses on official resources of EU- and Russian policies in the timeframe of Vladimir Putin’s first presidency in 2000 up to today, concentrating on values and norms as given EU-standard. The Ukraine will be considered in the context of analysis, while the role of the U.S. is given marginal attention, in order to keep the frame of a master thesis.
Michel Foucault himself gave methodological precautions, but not a methodology to put discourse analysis into practice (see ibid. 1980, see Jørgensen/Phillips 2002). Consequently, the methodology of this discourse analysis refers to Laclau and Mouffee’s conception of nodal points and floating signifiers in the framework of their discourse theory, which follows core aspects of Foucault’s approach (see Laclau and Mouffee 1985).1 In order to examine the core assumption, EU-standards, challenged in EU-Russian-relations in the course of the Ukraine-crisis, will be analysed.
EU-standard concepts chosen for analysis are: democracy, multipolarity, rule of law and modernization.
These will be analysed with Laclau and Mouffee’s conception of nodal points and floating signifiers. Data will be collected (official resources), the comprehension of the respective EU- standard concept by each side, Russia and EU, will be examined and verified by examples.
The outcome will be discussed against the theoretical background of a “truth of power”, regarding implications for EU-diplomacy towards Russia and Ukraine’s role as a buffer zone concerning power and balance in a globalized world. Future perspectives of academic research will be envisaged.