The European Union's Relations with Ukraine and Azerbaijan

Abstract

Among European Neighborhood Policy countries, Azerbaijan stands out, because it leans on its resource base and sees the EU on the receiving end of bilateral relations. At the other extreme, Ukraine depends on EU cooperation. A comprehensive theoretical concept for analyzing both types of asymmetries is developed by considering Ukraine's and Azerbaijan's rational cost-benefit and constructivist, norm-oriented national strategies. Both national strategies are contrasted with bilateral, regional, and multilateral EU approaches to democracy promotion, economic cooperation, Justice and Home Affairs cooperation, and conflict resolution in the European neighborhood. The elements on which the EU's Neighborhood Europeanization strategy should be based for maximal effectiveness are considered.