Geopolitical Foundations of the Anti-Russian Discourse of the European Union

Abstract

The article provides an analysis of the fundamental foundations of the anti- Russian discourse in the European Union, suggesting possible explanations for its escalation in contemporary European politics, in both the academic and expert community and in the mass media. The author suggests that the anti-Russian discourse in the EU should not be viewed as a series of random coincidences and not even as a coordinated one-time campaign, but rather as a part of an integral geopolitical strategy. This strategy has an impact on the social space (informational, ideological, semantic), within which the anti-Russian discourse is one of the tools of the European Union and NATO expansion to the East, closer to the borders of the Russian Federation. One of the most important reasons for the constant anti- Russian rhetoric is associated with European Union’s problems in achieving its own “strategic autonomy,” i.e. a unifi ed security and defense policy. The growth of European Russophobia is also associated with the desire to gain competitive advantages in the growing economic rivalry on the world stage. Furthermore, the incessant attacks on Russia are rooted in the erosion of the common European identity, the loss of the attractiveness of European values, as they are understood in the modern establishment of the European Union. Finally, the scope of the anti-Russian rhetoric is explained by the diffi culties experienced by the so-called “European solidarity,” the internal cohesion of the European Union as an integral entity.

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