The Subregional Organization Response to Russian Aggression

• In Event: Russo-Ukrainian War

Abstract

A crisis creates a window of opportunity for new policy agendas. At an international level, it could elicit enhanced cooperation between states or exacerbate differences as states double down on core interests. This paper explores how European formal and informal intergovernmental organizations responded to Russia’s 2022 attack on Ukraine. Particular attention is paid to the response by understudied regional organizations established after the fall of the Berlin Wall to support good neighborly relations and cooperation among post-communist countries in Europe and to support Euro-Atlantic integration and security and stability. These organizations today bring together EU and NATO members and non-members (sometimes including Russia or its allies) in a common framework. Drawing on organization documents and elite interviews, I categorize, explain, and compare how they responded to the biggest threat to European security since their establishment. I find that membership, institutional design, leadership, and norms influenced responses; newer organizations performed similarly to older ones; having overlapping organizations with different configurations proved useful; and multilateralism generally prevailed.

Author

• Melanie H. Ram, California State University, Fresno