ISSUE: 4/2025
- Volume 29
- Number 4
- 2025
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Studia Europejskie –
Studies in European Affairs
ISSN: 1428-149X
e-ISSN: 2719-3780
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Articles published in the journal are under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial – No Derivatives 4.0 International License
Publication co-financed by Ministry of Science and Higher Education pursuant to the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 3 August 2021 (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1514) on the “Development of Scientific Journals” programme.
Publikacja dofinansowana przez Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego na podstawie rozporządzenia Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z 3 sierpnia 2021 r. (Dz. U. z 2021 r. poz. 1514) w sprawie programu „Rozwój czasopism naukowych”.
Publication co-financed by the University of Warsaw within the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme.
Czasopismo otrzymało dofinasowanie w ramach Programu „Inicjatywa Doskonałości – Uczelnia Badawcza”.
Is the EU a Credible Normative Actor in Times of War? A Discourse Analysis of Its Response to Russia’s Invasion
Abstract
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 called into question the international identity of the European Union as a values-based actor. This paper examines the extent to which the Union has managed to maintain normative consistency and credibility in the context of war, drawing on the concepts of “normative power” and “securitisation theory” to interpret its official discourse. The discourse analysis of EU institutions from 2022 to 2025 shows that democracy, human rights, and international law have remained constant anchor points in key political documents.
However, these values increasingly appear in combination with language of security and strategic justifications, indicating a rhetorical shift – not a complete abandonment of fundamental principles, but certainly a re-framing of them. The analysis shows that the EU has largely maintained its identity based on values, although elements of instrumentalising these norms to justify geopolitical decisions can be observed in the discourse. Such findings raise new questions about how the EU’s role in the world is changing. Instead of maintaining a firmly defined normative identity, the Union is clearly adapting it to circumstances – especially in times of external crises. The Ukrainian case illustrates this clearly: the EU aims to balance its integration goals with realpolitik, thereby reshaping the way it positions itself on the international stage.
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DOI: 10.33067/SE.4.2025.5
Language: English
Pages: 99-123
How to Cite:
Harvard
Jović-Lazić, A. (2025) "Is the EU a Credible Normative Actor in Times of War? A Discourse Analysis of Its Response to Russia’s Invasion". Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 4/2025, pp. 99-123. DOI: 10.33067/SE.4.2025.5