Affinities to Putin's Russia in East-Central Europe
The Project »Affinities to Putin's Russia in East Central Europe« examines the ways in which the successful rise of national populisms in the East Central European societies relates to changes in the regional geopolitical context resulting from the economic, military, and political activities of Russia under the presidency of Vladimir Putin. In some of the Visegrad countries (in Hungary, in Slovakia, to some extent in the Czech Republic, yet not in Poland), changes in foreign policy orientations with regard to Russia can be observed during the last 30 years. This has represented a challenge for the EU in formulating a common response to Russia as a world power with renewed imperial aspirations, and it denotes differences in the attitude of political elites and people towards Russia. The project examines the attitudes and the relationship of the Visegrad states with Russia as a result of processes and circumstances that are shaped to a large extent by specific constellations in historical culture and politics.