Russia’s War on Ukraine, the EU, and Its Eastern Neighborhood: Layers of Liminality

Abstract

This article uses the lens of liminality to explore the consequences and wider implications of the war in Ukraine for those states “in-between,” with a specific focus on Georgia and Moldova and their relations with the EU. It examines the different approaches that these two states have adopted in response to their spatial and temporal liminal condition: Georgia has focused on the discursive construction of a new identity, while Moldova has tended to focus on the process of becoming European, on the institutional elements of integration with the EU. War is also a liminal condition, an uncertain and transformative period; thus, the war in Ukraine adds a further layer of liminality to the EU’s eastern neighborhood, intensifying the ambiguity and contestation that can occur as Georgia and Moldova pursue recognition and acceptance of their European identity.