Alena Vysotskaya Guedes Vieira1; 1 CICP/University of Minho, Portugal
Discussion
The proposed contribution aims to evaluate the alignment between Russia and Belarus in the context of the US and EU sanctions from the Social Identity Theory (SIT) perspective. Focusing specifically on the time period 2020-2022, and taking as a point of departure the official discourse of Russian and Belarusian high officials, the contribution examines the points of convergence and divergence in the Russian and the Belarusian postures. Against this background, the contribution identifies mechanisms used by the both countries to legitimise the divergent positions, and to discuss their implications, both for the countries' bilateral relationship and in terms of their participation in the multilateral initiatives, and especially the Eurasian Economic Union.
