The threat of abandonment : Images of the EU’s crises in post-Maidan Ukraine
(2024) In European Journal of International Security- Abstract
This article further theorises and develops the notion of a threat of abandonment while trying to elucidate the applicability and usefulness of this concept in the case of Ukraine in its fight against Russia since 2014. If Ukraine perceives the European Union (EU) as weakened by multiple crises, it may translate this image into a scenario of less attention to Ukraine and its problems, and – ultimately – to a threat of abandonment, of being left alone with a powerful aggressor. Theoretically, we employ a perceptual approach. We contribute to the literature on threats of abandonment, linking it to the existence of critical expectation gaps and introducing amplifying conditions that tend to result in such gaps: a broken frame of... (More)
This article further theorises and develops the notion of a threat of abandonment while trying to elucidate the applicability and usefulness of this concept in the case of Ukraine in its fight against Russia since 2014. If Ukraine perceives the European Union (EU) as weakened by multiple crises, it may translate this image into a scenario of less attention to Ukraine and its problems, and – ultimately – to a threat of abandonment, of being left alone with a powerful aggressor. Theoretically, we employ a perceptual approach. We contribute to the literature on threats of abandonment, linking it to the existence of critical expectation gaps and introducing amplifying conditions that tend to result in such gaps: a broken frame of involvement and a perceived moral injury. We also introduce a set of key factors behind a perceived risk or threat of abandonment. Empirically, we investigate how Ukrainian elites think, feel, and speak about the threat of abandonment and to what extent the two amplifying conditions were perceived to be present. Our data come from 50 in-depth interviews with Ukrainian decision makers (2016–17, C3EU Jean Monnet Network) and 53 experts’ comments published in 2022 by a Ukrainian leading social research group, Razumkov’s Centre.
(Less)
- author
- Chaban, Natalia LU and Elgstrom, Ole LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- critical expectation gap, perceptual approach, the EU, threat of abandonment, Ukraine
- in
- European Journal of International Security
- publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85211373256
- ISSN
- 2057-5637
- DOI
- 10.1017/eis.2024.49
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b17fc156-34e3-4e07-9131-b5807831ad13
- date added to LUP
- 2025-01-30 14:22:51
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:24:04
@article{b17fc156-34e3-4e07-9131-b5807831ad13,
abstract = {{<p>This article further theorises and develops the notion of a threat of abandonment while trying to elucidate the applicability and usefulness of this concept in the case of Ukraine in its fight against Russia since 2014. If Ukraine perceives the European Union (EU) as weakened by multiple crises, it may translate this image into a scenario of less attention to Ukraine and its problems, and – ultimately – to a threat of abandonment, of being left alone with a powerful aggressor. Theoretically, we employ a perceptual approach. We contribute to the literature on threats of abandonment, linking it to the existence of critical expectation gaps and introducing amplifying conditions that tend to result in such gaps: a broken frame of involvement and a perceived moral injury. We also introduce a set of key factors behind a perceived risk or threat of abandonment. Empirically, we investigate how Ukrainian elites think, feel, and speak about the threat of abandonment and to what extent the two amplifying conditions were perceived to be present. Our data come from 50 in-depth interviews with Ukrainian decision makers (2016–17, C3EU Jean Monnet Network) and 53 experts’ comments published in 2022 by a Ukrainian leading social research group, Razumkov’s Centre.</p>}},
author = {{Chaban, Natalia and Elgstrom, Ole}},
issn = {{2057-5637}},
keywords = {{critical expectation gap; perceptual approach; the EU; threat of abandonment; Ukraine}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}},
series = {{European Journal of International Security}},
title = {{The threat of abandonment : Images of the EU’s crises in post-Maidan Ukraine}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/eis.2024.49}},
doi = {{10.1017/eis.2024.49}},
year = {{2024}},
}