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Hungary is often viewed as Russia’s new Trojan horse in the European Union owing to its deepening relations with Russia as part of its “Eastern Opening” policy, its increasing energy proximity and strong opposition to the EU sanctions. This article briefly outlines Hungary’s “Eastern Opening” policy in the Russian context and then analyzes whether the Trojan Horse observation is correct by discussing how Hungary’s trade and energy relations with Russia have evolved. It goes on to look at the Paks-2 deal and Hungarian reactions to the sanctions regime before concluding that by signing the Paks-2 deal, the Orbán government drove Hungary to a point at which the Russian side of its foreign policy came into unavoidable conflict with its relations within the EU. If the deal is set in motion, Hungary risks being tied to Moscow’s orbit and thus becoming its Trojan Horse.
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Recently relations between Russia and the European Union have been experiencing another dramatic period. Unfortunately this is not the first time in the centuries-long history of Russian-European relations. If we look back at the last quarter of a century i.e. the period when modern Russian foreign policy was created, it is clear that Russia was waltzing at least theoretically towards establishing and developing relations with Europe and implementing Eurasian integration projects, but lagged behind with its own projects. Relations between Russia and the European Union were complicated by the EU back stepping each time it became dissatisfied with Russia’s actions. Ultimately, the entire Russian and EU Four Spaces program collapsed as the EU opted for relations with Eastern Partnership countries which seemed more predictable. Notwithstanding this, Russian geopolitical strategy was focused on Europe. Russian experts believe that the main aspect requiring attention was and is to shape the political culture of a Russian–European consensus.
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In 2015 President Putin’s experiment to transform Ukraine into Novorossiya (Little Russia) seems to have failed. Despite the violations of its sovereignty and warfare, Ukraine is still on the maps. Even Moscow’s tampering of historical facts – such as renaming “Kievan Rus’” the “Ancient Rus’” state in encyclopedias – has not erased the history of Ukraine. Nor does it deny the existence of the Ukrainian nation. With all its complexity, Ukraine is an independent state with its own particular identity: consolidated or not, it is Ukrainian, and not Russian. This is contested by Russia since protecting Russian identity in Ukraine is the only justification for the military aggression. The article analyzes contemporary Ukrainian identity and the author attempts to determine whether there really is discrimination against identity diversity in Ukraine or whether Mother Russia is simply claiming domination.
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The conflict in Ukraine is the most serious assault on the post-Cold War security architecture in Europe and the West generally. Nonetheless, in recent years there have been signs of deterioration in the security environment and in relations with Russia. In the following article we start by analyzing the security architecture in Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain. We then consider Russian views of European security. As we shall argue, the conflict in Ukraine is a symptom, not the cause, of worsening relations between the EU and Russia, and between NATO and Russia. It is not possible to touch upon all the areas affected by this crisis; therefore we will focus mainly on international organizations, agreements, the Budapest Memorandum and military cooperation.
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The article analyzes Visegrad Group policy towards Russia by comparing the national policies of participating countries. In contrast to the joint activities carried out within the EU Eastern Partnership, Visegrad Group countries have rarely adopted a common position on the Russian Federation on account of their different perceptions of security risks and national interests. In spite of their common strategic goals, divergence over relations with Russia can sometimes undermine confidence between the V4 countries, and this may weaken Visegrad cooperation in the future. The recent conflict between the EU and Russia caused splits not only between V4 countries but also within them. This has been particularly true in Slovakia and Hungary, and to some extent in the Czech Republic, where debate on the foreign policy direction of their countries have been reignited.
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This paper is an attempt to understand the significance of the Eastern Partnership project for Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus as well as the European Union and offer a set of recommendations for improving the Eastern Partnership. The fourth 2015 EaP Summit was a key moment for the EU in terms of identifying its response policy to the hybrid war between Russia and Ukraine. The crisis has led to unprecedented challenges for the security and economic interests of the EU and its member states and these should be faced accordingly. In a geopolitical confrontation the EU is doomed to failure. Therefore the rationale behind the “either/or” policy (either integration with the EU or with Russia – by means of a customs union) has to be reconsidered.
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YES2015. EUISS Yearbook of European Security, Paris: European Union Institute for Security Studies, 2015, 265 p., ISBN 978-92-9198-359-9
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Magda Szcześniak introduces to the reader a very colourful figure, one of the most important researchers in the fields of queer studies and affective theory: Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, the author of, among others, Epistemology of the Closet, Melanie Klein and the Difference Affect, Touching Feeling. Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity, Paranoid reading and Reparative Reading, or, You're So Paranoid, You Probably Think This Essay Is About You. Szcześniak mentions the most important phenomena absorbing the American scholar: the problem of closeness, queer, feminism, masculinity, performativity, affects etc. Interestingly, Sedgwick not only researched her theories, but also incorporated them into her writing and pedagogical practice. As a result, a strongly affective, bodily bond appears between the author and the reader.
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