Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Thirteenth Annual Conference of European Political Science Association , Glasgow, İngiltere, 22 - 24 Haziran 2023
The main purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast responses of Ukraine's
neighbours before and during the crisis. I will focus on practices and discourses of Polish and
Slovak politicians. Both countries have expressed steadfast support for Ukraine, and both
have accepted many refugees fleeing from the war. However, while the Poles were criticizing
Russia and blaming the Russian government for the war, some Slovaks were skeptic about
NATO and willing to maintain amicable relations with Russia. Thus, comparing practices and
discourses of these two neighbours of Ukraine will contribute to our understanding of
solidarity building among NATO and EU members during a crisis. The paper tries to give an
answer to three questions: i) What were the initial reactions of Poland and Slovakia; ii) How
were Russian attacks portrayed by politicians in Poland and Slovakia?,and iii) How did
politicians build solidarity with the EU and NATO during the crisis? To answer these questions,
the paper uses speeches, interviews and statements of presidents, prime ministers and
foreign ministers of Poland and Slovakia.