Public diplomacy and the persistence of the conflict and cooperation dichotomy in EU-Russia relations

The literature on relations between the European Union (EU) and Russia has proliferated during the last decade. However, little attention has been afforded to the role of public diplomacy (PD). Studies have generally focused on the gradual breakdown of the relationship between the two international actors in the background of the Ukraine crisis, but also on Russia’s gradual disenchantment with the Western-led liberal world order. The underlying assumption has been that Russia and the EU have gradually become engaged in a dialogue of the deaf, where PD does not serve a meaningful role, if any. With the breakdown of the current EU-Russia relations, the emphasis on cooperation is rather muted, which opens the space for questioning the role of PD in this dynamic. In this context, the article analyses the way in which EU PD (directed towards Russia) represents and perpetuates the conflict and cooperation dichotomy. It finds that, developed primarily from a monological perspective, the EU’s PD framing is rather ineffective in addressing in appealing to the Russian general public or changing the Kremlin’s behaviour.