Document Type : Research Paper

Author

• Alireza Samoudi Pilehroud

Associate Professor, Mofid University

Abstract

Relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation have been fluctuating over the past three decades. Tension emerged during the first two terms of Putin's and Medvedev’s presidency, as well as Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. However, during the third term of Putin's presidency, which began in 2012, the confrontation and tension between Brussels and Moscow was dramatically increased. The Ukraine crisis (2014) has raised concerns about the formation of a new Cold War in Europe. After the crisis in Ukraine, relations between Russia and the European Union have been largely frozen. In fact, the cooperation-conflict dichotomy was replaced by conflict. The main question of the present article is "What factors have led to the formation of a new cold war in relations between the European Union and Russian Federation? The hypothesis is "Russo-Georgian War, Eastern Partnership Program, Ukraine Crisis and Crimea Annexation to Russia have changed the way the European Union and Russia perceive each other as a geopolitical rival; and the ignite of a hybrid war by Russia against the European Union, as well as the start of a new Cold War era between the two actors". The research method used in this paper is descriptive-analytical method.

Keywords

• European Union
• Normative Approach
• Russian Federation
• Hybrid War
• Brexit