The European Union’s Arctic Policy and Russia’s Threat Perception: Reflections of The Ukraine War

Year 2024, Volume: 13 Issue: 2, 68 - 79, 26.12.2024

Hasibe Tuğçe Taşık

Abstract

The European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation (Russia) are two important actors that have developed and implemented policies towards the Arctic region since the 2000s. The Ukrainian War brought these two sides face to face in the Arctic. The war caused a shift in the EU's Arctic policy from cooperation and environmental issues to security-oriented policies. This article examines the EU's Arctic policies leading up to the Ukrainian War and analyzes which steps Russia perceived as threats by the EU. The EU's policies are evaluated within the framework of neoliberalism and Russia's policies within the framework of realism from international relations theories. The article considers the parties' perceptions of threat towards each other and the evolution of these perceptions into conflict in the light of primary and secondary sources. As a result, the EU's expansion policy and neighborhood policy caused Russia's perceptions of threat, and the process that began with the occupation of Crimea increased the activities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the region and brought the two sides face to face with Finland's NATO membership. The Ukraine War has also disrupted the balance of power in the Arctic region of the EU and Russia, making cooperation difficult and creating an environment of conflict. Ending the war as soon as possible and having the parties come together at the table with new political and military solutions will ensure the establishment of peace in the Arctic.

Keywords

Arctic, European Union, Russia, UkraineWar

Avrupa Birliği’nin Arktik Politikası ve Rusya’nın Tehdit Algısı: Ukrayna Savaşı’nın Yansımaları

Abstract

Avrupa Birliği (AB) ve Rusya, 2000’li yıllardan itibaren Arktik bölgesine yönelik politikalar geliştiren ve uygulayan iki önemli aktördür. Ukrayna Savaşı, bu iki tarafı Arktik’ te karşı karşıya getirmiştir. Savaş, AB’nin Arktik politikasında iş birliği ve çevre konuları ağırlıklı gündemden güvenlik odaklı politikalara doğru bir değişime neden olmuştur. Bu makale, Ukrayna Savaşı’na giden süreçte AB’nin Arktik politikalarını incelemekte ve Rusya’nın AB’nin hangi adımlarını tehdit olarak algıladığını analiz etmektedir. Uluslararası ilişkiler teorilerinden neoliberalizm çerçevesinde AB’nin politikaları, realizm çerçevesinde ise Rusya’nın politikaları değerlendirilmektedir. Makale, tarafların birbirlerine yönelik tehdit algılarını ve bu algıların çatışmaya evrilmesini birincil ve ikincil kaynaklar ışığında değerlendirmektedir. Sonuç olarak, AB’nin genişleme politikası ve komşuluk politikası, Rusya’nın tehdit algılamalarına neden olmuş, Kırım’ın işgali ile başlayan süreç ise NATO’nun bölgedeki faaliyetlerini artırmıştır. Ukrayna Savaşı, AB ve Rusya’nın Arktik bölgesindeki güç dengelerini de bozmuş ve iş birliklerini zorlaştırarak bir çatışma ortamı yaratmıştır.

Keywords

Arktik, Avrupa Birliği, Rusya, Ukrayna Savaşı

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