This article explores how perceptions of the Ukraine crisis reflect broader ways of thinking about the European Union (EU) and Russia in the shared neighbourhood. A common interpretation of the crisis is that it marks a clash between a ‘postmodern’ EU and a ‘modern’ Russia. This article questions this interpretation, challenging both the broad framework and also its utility in explaining the Ukraine crisis. Furthermore, it suggests that the framework has itself contributed to the crisis. The exceptionalism inherent in the ‘postmodern EU’ concept encourages EU policymakers to believe that their policy is inherently legitimate and hence to disregard the views and interests of other states. Russian policymakers have continuously objected to such an approach and their assertiveness in relation to Ukraine is in part a response to it.
European Foreign Affairs Review