Russie.Eurasie.Visions - The EU and Russia: the Needed Balance Between Geopolitics and Regionalism "Russie.Nei.Visions", No. 10 (b), May 2006

While the EU conceives its neighborhood via regional policies, Russia sees it in terms of geopolitics. A large part of the misunderstanding which prevails on both sides concerning the 'Common Space for External Security' stems from the clash between these different mental maps. By examining the respective and reciprocal implications of these approaches, this paper underlines the need for both parties to become conscious of the conceptual gap between their viewpoints, and to try ultimately reducing it.