Flags in Lviv: An Analysis of Political Elites in Brussels and Kyiv's Perceptions of the EU

Abstract

In the autumn of 2022, during a visit to the city of Lviv in Eastern Ukraine, the amount of EU flags in the cityscape sparked my curiosity. What does the EU mean to Ukrainians? And how is that telling of a potential common future with Ukraine inside the EU? This thesis delves into the perceptions of the EU and European identity among political elites in Brussels and Kyiv. Through discourse analysis, drawing upon on the work of Laclau and Mouffe, the thesis examines how these elites construct meaning around the European project. It furthermore draws on Anderson’s notion of Imagined Communities to understand how the two discourses perceive European identity. The thesis situates itself within the rapidly expanding literature on European identity and the role of the EU globally. The findings shed light on the complexities of EU integration, highlighting potential pitfalls and opportunities in merging the logics dominant in Brussels and Kyiv. The thesis finds that the Brussels discourse is characterized by a double-differential logic, maintaining institutional continuity despite upheavals. In contrast, Kyiv discourse exhibits an archetypal populist logic, envisioning EU membership as a pathway to freedom and stability. While European identity remains vague in Brussels, Kyiv elites hold a clearer conception. However, the potential fusion of Ukrainian populism with the EU's differential logic poses challenges for both sides. For now, it seems that maintaining the equivalential chain around the empty EU signifier serves to streamline political efforts towards EU accession in Kyiv. Finally, the thesis adds new dimensions to the theories on which it builds its findings. Firstly, by illustrating how the Kyiv discourse navigates between equivalent demands and aspirations for a more institutionalized society akin to the EU, the analysis sheds light on a novel dimension of populist discourse. Secondly, Kyiv elites exhibit a strong commitment to the European project, challenging conventional notions of national identity. The Ukrainian identity's belief in Ukraine stems from its belief in the EU. This divergence suggests a potential shift away from the primacy of the nation-state in shaping collective identities, as Kyiv's imagined community is the imagination of an European imagined community