Political Rhetoric in the Black Sea and the Arctic Region (the cases of Romania and Norway)
Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu
Anne-Kristin Jørgensen
Arild Moe
Marius Diaconescu
Iver Neumann
The research aims at analyzing various interpretations of current domestic political events in Romania, provided by important (with global reach) Russian media outlets, such as RT, Sputnik etc., and consequently check upon the coherence and persistence of specific narratives and rhetorical lines. It will also follow how these elements of interpretation found place in Romanian political discourses, in the past two decades. At the end, a comparison between recent Russian rhetoric and discourses on Romanian and Norwegian security policy will be made.
Instruments and ambitions in Russia’s policy towards Romania and Norway: a comparative approach
Armand Goșu
Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu
Arild Moe
Anne-Kristin Jørgensen
The analysis will seek to identify Russia’s stated foreign policy goals and strategies within the two case-study countries, an analysis of Russia’s official foreign policy documents and include a brief literature review of existing analyses of Russia’s foreign policy, and its soft power approaches to Romania and Norway.
Geography and resources
Arild Moe
Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu
Armand Goșu
A-K Jørgensen
Marius Diaconescu
Radu Carp
This subproject will tackle various studies: the strategic history and importance of geographical resources on the seashore of Romania and the respective role and interests of Russia, from the 18th century onward; the current disputes over boundaries and hydrocarbon resources in the Black Sea; the fishery policies in the Black Sea; Russian policy and the Russia-Norway disputes surrounding the Barents Sea; a comparative analysis on the relevance and lessons from conflict resolution in the Norwegian Arctic for the Black Sea.
Novorossiya, Odessa oblast and the issue of the national minorities living in Southern Ukraine
Radu Carp
There are various studies on the minorities from the Odessa oblast but none of them until now have tried to capture the complex relationship with the Ukrainian majority and the relationship with the kin-states (Romania, Bulgaria and to some extent Turkey) and also how Russia is looking at the minorities issues in southern Ukraine. Also, the region has not been part of a research from a religious perspective, as the schism inside the Ukrainian Orthodox Church also affected these minorities to a large extent.
The frozen conflict in the Trans-Dniester and the OSCE
Marius Diaconescu
The aim of this subproject is to study the frozen conflict in the Trans-Dniester from a historical perspective to give a better understanding of the conflict’s causes: the economic and demographic policies during the Soviet period; Moldova’s national founding myth; image of Romania and Romanians in Russian propaganda; achievements and failures of the OSCE mission in Moldova.
Russia’s contemporary policy towards small and middle-sized neighbours in a historical context
Iver Neumann
Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu
Armand Goșu
Arild Moe
Can we learn something from the longer lines in Russian history? A study will present the main findings of earlier research on Russian state-building and relations with neighbouring countries; review and compare main elements in Russian policies towards Norway and Romania respectively since the early 19th century; discuss findings on contemporary Russian policies from the project in light of the historical experience. The other aim of this subproject is Russia’s image in Romanian society in contemporary times.