PUBLIC LECTURE AT SORBONNE UNIVERSITY

„Different Faces of ‘Pragmatism’: Eastern European Countries Against the Russian War in Ukraine – A Mixed Response” was the title of a public lecture given in Paris at the Sorbonne European Center for Social and Political Studies by the Chief Researcher of the Department of Political Culture and Ideologies Mykola Riabchuk. In his presentation, the Ukrainian scholar discussed different stances of East European nations in regard of the Russian war in Ukraine and hypothesized the possible reasons for these differences. It appeared that neither the common ‘Communist’ past and semi-colonial dependence on Moscow nor common belonging to the European ‘family’ of nations institutionalized in the EU and NATO do not guarantee their unanimity on such an important issue.

Sorbonne University

Security concerns and economic ties with Russia (energy import in particular) do play some role but, in some cases, they are remarkably downplayed while in some other cases they are notably overblown. The main determinant of the stances and policies of East European governments, according to Dr. Riabchuk, is their commitment to the normative values of the EU or, alternatively, willingness to sacrifice this commitment for the sake of populist policies and electoral success.