Eastern Partnership: A New Opportunity for the Neighbours?

This volume offers a collective assessment of the development and impact of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the newly launched Eastern Partnership Initiative on its eastern neighbours, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, in particular, juxtaposed with Russia#xE2;#xAC;"s standpoint. Founded on extensive empirical and conceptual research, it uniquely bridges the perspectives of all parties across the EU#xE2;#xAC;"s eastern border, in an attempt to detect gaps in perception and misconceptions related to the effective implementation of the EU-proffered partnershipin the eastern region. The undertaken research points to the prevalence of the top-down and conditional governanceapproach in EU treatment of the outsiders, which is not only Eurocentricand prescriptive in nature, but also falls short of the declared partnershipprinciples. Without the understanding of partners#xE2;#xAC;" internal dilemmas and needs, which could only be achieved through equivalence and reciprocity of partnership, the EU would struggle to make the policy effective and legitimate in the region, and to buttress its reputation as a #xE2;#xAC;#xDC;credible force for good#xE2;#xAC;" on the international arena. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Communist Studies and Transiton Politics.