Europe, Ukraine and the German Roots of the New Russian Geopolitics

Conferenc Theme: Crises, Changes, and Chances: The European ConundrumSession 2: The Politics of CrisisThe protracted crisis in Ukraine has exposed fundamental political differences between (West) European leaders and their counterparts in Russia. The very existence of the European Union (EU) was meant to have refuted geopolitics as a useful theoretical lens through which to view power relations in Europe. After all, the European project is based on the idea that boundaries no longer matter and that national sovereignty is obsolete. And, yet, geopolitics remains critically important – certainly for Europe’s potential enemies, but also for Europe, itself