ETD

• diplomacy
• disagreement
• discursive weapons
• EU-Russia relations
• EU's external action
• mistrust
• Russian foreign policy
• Ukraine
• values

The research paper extensively explores the dimension of values within the sphere of EU-Russia diplomatic relations in order to advance an understanding of the impact of values in exacerbating mistrust and disagreement between Russia and the EU. The study presents a comparative character and employs constructivist and realist lenses, as well as several qualitative research methods of analysis, to delve into the turbulent pattern of EU-Russia relations, with a focus on how they perceive both themselves and each other within the ‘shared neighbourhood’ and on the world stage.
This dissertation tries to navigate an uncertain and currently still under-explored field of research, attempting to answer the following research question: ‘How are values affecting mistrust and disagreement within EU-Russia diplomatic relations?”
Ultimately, the paper argues how both Russia and the EU, to different extents and in different ways, instrumentalise values in their foreign policy rhetoric, turning them into ‘discursive weapons.’