The impact on Foreign and Security Policy of Parties’ Attitudes Towards the War in Ukraine: Comparison of Bulgarian, Czech and Slovak Cases

The paper proposes a comparative study of the impact of the Russian war in Ukraine on political parties in CEE and subsequently their positions and influence on Foreign and Security Policy. We will focus on the ways the war hast affected parties in three countries, members of NATO and EU: Slovakia, which has a common border with Ukraine; the Czech Republic, which along with Slovakia is a part of the Visegrad group, and Bulgaria, in the Balkans. The main research questions are: How the war in Ukraine affects parties and cleavages in the three studied cases? Some established parties, stigmatised as corrupt, sustain pro-European, pro-NATO and pro-Ukrainian positions. Some traditionally Eurosceptic parties are supporting the EU unity and decisions on Russia and Ukraine. Which parties are less critical to Russia or are pro-Russian? What is their influence on the decisions taken in the field of Foreign and Security policy? What is their influence on countries’ stances on sanctions; refugees; arms deliveries and humanitarian aid to Ukraine; on NATO, EU, Russia? In all three studied cases, different national elections took place or will take place since the beginning of the Russian aggression, and the war in Ukraine has been an important issue during the campaigns. From the path dependency perspective, these three countries had different attitudes towards URSS/Russia and the communist regimes. They diverge also in their trajectories of Europeanisation and in their attitudes towards NATO and U.S. Among others, citizens of these countries are exposed to significant flows of propaganda, disinformation. Even though most relevant parties are supporting Ukraine, EU and NATO, there are parties which tend to be less critical to Russia, while others promote Russian positions and defend Eurosceptic or anti-European and anti-NATO stances. The goal of the paper is to compare these less critical on Russia or pro-Russian parties. The comparison will take into consideration their affiliations to political families and their alliances abroad; their positions in the system – pro - or anti-system; their role in national parliaments: in government or in opposition, and their potential to influence the decision-making process in the field of Foreign and Security Policy and on military matters. The study is based on observations, analyses of documents, statements and analysis of the tools and of types of mobilisations, deployed by these parties.