DIVERGING NEIGHBORS: RESPONSES OF POLAND, ROMANIA AND HUNGARY TO THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

Date

2025-9

Author

Çağlayan, Pelin Nur

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a global-scale conflict happening in the Eastern European region and impacting Ukraine’s neighbors. This thesis examines the diverging responses of Poland, Romania and Hungary to the war. The responses are analyzed through three key factors that are geopolitics, national identity and energy dependence. Despite sharing similar historical experiences and being EU and NATO members, these states have adopted different stances. Hungary responded by being a non-compliant member state in the EU processes and maintained its relations with Russia. Poland responded by being a leading supporter of Ukraine and positioning itself as a regional security hub. Romania displayed a cautious but responsible stance visible in its concern for a potential spillover and its commitment to NATO responsibilities. The impact of the aforementioned factors on these states’ responses are explained through the extent to which these states are vulnerable to Russian influence. Through a comparative analysis of these three cases, this thesis displays how geopolitical conditions, national identity tendencies and energy dependence levels have influenced these states’ responses to Ukraine’s invasion.

Subject Keywords

Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Hungary

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115595

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis