A comparative analysis of Poland’s, Lithuania’s and Latvia’s diplomatic engagement with Belarus in 2014-2020

Autor principal:
Marijus Antonovic (Universidad de Vilnius)
Programa:
Sesión 2, Sesión 2
Día: miércoles, 7 de septiembre de 2022
Hora: 12:30 a 14:15
Lugar: Aula 060

After Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 one could notice a thaw in relations between Belarus and Western countries. This rapprochement was motivated by fear of Russia’s policy in the region. But no such shift could happen without the participation of Belarus’s Western neighbours – Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. It is through these countries that Belarus could re-establish its contacts with the West. And there were visible examples of Poland’s, Lithuania’s and Latvia’s improved relations and increasing cooperation with Belarus. However, despite the increased willingness to cooperate with the West, Belarus was deeply integrated with Russia, especially in the military sphere. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia were aware of that, but nevertheless tried to engage Belarus. So a question arises how they thought would be best to diplomatically engage Belarus and what could be achieved with such a policy. This paper will attempt to find answers to these questions. To do so it will employ the new liberalism International Relations theory of Andrew Moravcsik. It will also try to locate its findings in the broader literature on diplomatic engagement.

Palabras clave: small states, middle powers, diplomatic engagement