National Identities and Foreign Policy in the European Union

The book examines the relationship between national identity and foreign policy discourses on Russia in Germany, Poland and Finland in the years 2005-2015. The case studies focus on the Nord Stream pipeline controversy, the 2008 Russian-Georgian war, the post-electoral protests in Russian cities in 2011-2012 and the Ukraine crisis. The book argues that divergent foreign policy narratives of Russia are rooted in different national identity constructions. Most significantly, the Ukraine crisis and the Nord Stream controversy have exposed how deep-rooted and different perceptions of the Russian Other in EU member states are still influential and lead to conflicting national agendas for foreign policy towards Russia.