Balancing cooperation and balance: European relations with Russia

The August 2008 invasion of Georgia confirmed that Russia is - and wants to be - an active international security player, capable of impinging upon, and limiting, the international-political options of countries that once belonged to the Soviet Union. The January 2009 'gas war' with Ukraine showed a Russia that is not loath of mobilising its vast energy resources for foreign and security policy purposes, with major ripple effects in countries dependent upon it for energy supplies. How is the European order envisioned by Russian foreign policy elites? How are the development and legitimacy of this order narrated? That narrative inevitably affects the conception of balance, more specifically the way in which the match is conceived between, on one hand, cooperation and engagement, and, on the other, security and balance of power. Here Ukraine merits particular attention: given its history and geopolitical position, it can be seen as the keystone of the post-Soviet order.