Europe and Russia. Red telephone?


Call For Papers
Monograph Robert Schuman
2019
Deadline: 9 January 2019
Info: instituto.schuman@ufv.es

Brexit was the first toxic result of a euro-skeptical atmosphere that has taken special hold over almost all the entire eastern zone of the Union, reaching even Italy, one of its founding countries. From Warsaw to Athens, in an area including Prague, Budapest, and Vienna, the populist and illiberal wave is getting closer to the French-German bastion of eurozone support, the western part of the Union that continues to unfurl the blue flag and support the compromises necessary for unity and solidarity among European countries.

One of the main protagonists in this new scenario is Russia: its expansionist, destabilizing imperatives are gaining influence in the politics of the Union. The annexation of Crimea, the support for anti-democratic regimes in Syria and Iran, the propagandistic use of media and new technologies, and its stranglehold over energy sources, are only a few examples of how the pieces held by the Kremlin are important for assembling the European puzzle.

It would nevertheless be reductive to talk about opposed blocs: as a result of Trump’s America First policies, the number of European countries turning their eyes toward Moscow is growing: during recent months many European heads of state have entered into negotiations with Putin concerning many important subjects that will determine the future of the Union. Their intention is to prevent Europe from being trapped again between the United States and Russia, and delving into the role of the Kremlin in the future of the European Union is therefore extremely important in order to understand the new rules of the game.

What is the nature of the winds blowing from the East? How will it be possible to avoid a breakup between Eastern and Western Europe? What are the cultural models inspiring Russian politics and how might they fit with our Enlightenment tradition? What is the relationship between the new European populism and Putin’s political Pan-Slavism? How can Europe export and defend its democratic values in conflict zones like Syria or Crimea where Russia is leading the way? Which economic politics is the Kremlin exporting to the EU and how do they fit with the already-accomplished European compromises?

These are some of the questions about Europe’s problematic future discussed in Robert Schuman’s 2019 monograph titled “Europe and Russia: Red Telephone?”.