| Abstrakt: |
This article explores the hypothesis that geopolitical tensions at the macro level (e.g., between the EU and Russia) may be mirrored differently at the national and local levels. Despite the general EU freeze in relations with Russia after the Crimean annexation of 2014 until March 2022, the EU continued to provide support for cross-border cooperation (CBC) programs at the local level between actors in Russia and those EU states that border Russia. The paper examines the manner in which CBC initiatives with the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland) were treated in Russian media in the period following the 2014 Ukraine crisis until 2021. The purpose of the media analysis is to determine the extent to which the Russian side made a linkage between local cooperation and geopolitical tensions, with Polish media coverage providing a comparative reference point. The analysis finds that while geopolitical events can, under extreme circumstances, severely interfere with local dynamics that may promote cooperation in international relations, in the face of less severe geopolitical tension, local cross-border initiatives can proceed relatively undisturbed, particularly if they have a non-political nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
