Description
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises a plethora of questions regarding the (nuclear) European security architecture. Considering Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons and its attempt to undermine the current nuclear order, the importance of the nuclear aspect to the war is evident. We therefore ask what impact does Russia’s war against Ukraine have on EU perceptions of nuclear security? Hence, we seek to determine the extent to which Russia’s challenge to the nuclear taboo is met with the presence or absence of “traditional” narratives on nuclear weapons. Adopting a poststructuralist and critical feminist lens, we conduct a critical discourse analysis of EU-level official discourse. Doing so, this paper’s aim is threefold: we trace traditional nuclear narratives, reflect on the absence of (alternative) nuclear narratives, and seek to explain the silencing of the latter. The EU represents a particularly interesting discursive arena as it combines multiple nuclear perspectives (nuclear, non-nuclear and nuclear host states) and has presented itself as pursuing to actively shape international nuclear order (e.g., in the Iran nuclear deal). Our analysis begins shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine and extends until the end of 2023. As the war is ongoing, we acknowledge our limitation of only being able to analyse how the EU’s discourse has evolved so far. First findings indicate that the narrative of security through deterrence is strengthened, keeping the dominance of gendered, traditional nuclear narratives unchallenged.
