The Changing Role Conceptions of FSU States after Russia’s War in Ukraine

• In Event: Ukraine and Foreign Policy Calculations

Abstract

How do the states of former Soviet Union define their role vis-à-vis Russia and other actors in the international environment? More importantly: how have these conceptions changed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Although there has been some work on the role conception of Russia in the new world order, i.e. since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and on the role conceptions of a select few Former Soviet Union (FSU) states like Ukraine, Belarus, and Georgia, there is relatively little comparative work that examines how these countries view their roles relative to Russia. National role conceptions are forged, in part, in relation to other actors. So, how do FSU states see their roles relative to the Russian Federation and how has that changed since the war began? Based on an earlier work by Breuning and Ishiyama (2021), and part of a larger project, we examine the evolution of the role conceptions for three countries (Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan) in the FSU, and how these conceptions have changed as a result of the exogeneous shock of the war. This will contribute to existing theoretical approaches to Foreign Policy role conceptions, by examining how systemic shocks alter the way in which role conceptions evolve.

Authors

• Marijke Breuning, University of North Texas

• John Ishiyama, University of North Texas