Russian Nuclear Energy Cooperation with Ukraine, Armenia, and Belarus: A Study of Identity

The aim of this project is to discern the meaning that exists in nuclear energy cooperation beyond the conventionally technical, economic, political, and scientific understandings towards an appreciation for factors of international identity. There have been instances observed in civil nuclear energy partnerships, particularly with the Russian Federation and the state-owned entities through which these partnerships are conducted, wherein the four conventional factors mentioned above do not fully account for official behaviour. In such instances, the obtainment of nuclear energy capabilities appears connected to discourse expressing perceptions of the international identity or status of the state with whom Russia is a partner. This project evaluates the expression of identity in elite and official discourse on nuclear energy cooperation with Russia in Belarus, Ukraine, and Armenia with Finland as a counterfactual case. The research prioritises a constructivist approach to international relations drawing upon the construction of identities and norms between CIS area states and their effect on the rationale of energy relations. The primary research question is, ‘To what extent is identity expressed in narratives of the civil nuclear energy relationship between Russia and Belarus, Armenia, and Ukraine?’ The secondary questions are, ‘How far and why has this varied during the post-Cold War period?’ and ‘If identity is expressed, what kind of identity is it?’ To clarify, the focus is on Belarusian, Armenian, and Ukrainian narratives on the civil nuclear energy relationships they hold with Russia. Therefore, any Russian narratives that are consulted will be applied as a tool for locating the uniqueness of the narratives of the three cases. Identity here speaks to international identity as expressed by narratives of distinct identities and narratives of bonded identities. Distinct identities are defined as identity which exists independently of another party. Bonded identities are those which draw upon similarities and sharedness between two groups. Bonded identity differs from shared identity in that shared identity implies an overarching commonality applying to two or more groups whilst bonded identity entails two or more separate identities that are linked by a common feature or features. Conversely, distinct identities are sufficient to exist largely in and of themselves without shared or bonded elements to another group. If civil nuclear energy is a means of shaping international identity by gaining sovereignty and agency and decreasing dependency, we should see a positive correlation between nuclear energy discourse with efforts to mark a status of international distinctiveness or bonded identity discourse on status enhancement. If this correlation is observed, then the economic and political factors conventionally revered as decisive in nuclear energy cooperation will need to be considered differently with the additional significant factor of identity. If identity elements are disregarded, the miscalculation of rationale for understanding the energy relationship between Russia and other states will inevitably occur.