Russian-European Relations in the Balkans and Black Sea Region

I: Russian-European relations: an "unexpected" crisis.- II: Greatness, Identity and Method.-III: Writing Russianness, Greatness and Europe in the 1960s.-IV: Writing Russianness, Greatness, Europe and the Balkans in the late Soviet Discourse in the 1980s.- V: Russian-European Security Interaction and the Idea of Great Powerhood between 1991-1999.- VI: Reinvention of Europe and EU-Russia Relations in Putin's Era 2000-2010.- VII: "Black Swan": New Greatness, False Europe and the Ukraine Crisis (2002-2014) .- VIII: Conclusions.

Vsevolod Samokhvalov is a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Liege, Belgium. He is also a Visiting Professor to the College of Europe. Vsevolod has worked as policy analyst and journalist in the Black Sea region, Balkans, London and Brussels.

"With this book, Vsevolod Samokhvalov makes an important contribution to the literature. The rich empirical material and the depth of analysis represent an important added value of the study. This book will be without doubt an interesting and revealing reading for scholars of history, political science, and literature." (Katsiaryna Yakouchyk, Democratization, Vol. 26 (2), 2019)

"VSEVOLOD SAMOKHVALOV'S BOOK OFFERS A USEFUL IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS of Russia's evolving great power identity and representations of Europe, with an empirical focus on European-Russian interaction in the Balkans and the Black Sea region. ... Samokhvalov's book provides an essential and balanced contribution to understanding European-Russian relations through a solid theoretical approach and impressively vast empirical work." (Marco-Siddi, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 71 (2), 2019)"The book adds to a growing body of empirically grounded, interpretivist research and significantly benefits from its author's ability to explain complex processes in clear language. ... The book will appeal to the students of Russian foreign policy, Russian-European relations and the Balkans-Black Sea area. It will also be of interest to anyone engaged in comparative and theoretical research of national and international identities." (Mikhail Molchanov, International Affairs, Vol.94 (3), 2018)
"The book not only provides an in-depth analysis of Russia's national identity but also explores the very term 'identity.' ... I would highly recommend this book-and not only to experts, academics, and politicians. Everyone who has an interest in the subject of East-West relations should pay attention to this publication." (Ilya Yablokov, The Russian Review, Vol. 77 (2), April, 2018)

"The book will appeal to the students of Russian foreign policy, Russian-European relations and the Balkans-Black Sea area. It will also be of interest to anyone engaged in comparative and theoretical research of