The EU, Human Rights and the Russo-Chechen Conflict
The role of the Russo-Chechen conflict in shaping the European Union's (EU) relations with Russia is of interest to analysts and policy makers, both those who assess and evaluate the nature, quality, and evolution of EU Russian relations and those who wish to gain a better understanding of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and its effectiveness and influence. Russia's human rights abuses in Chechnya and the EU's response to these pro vide us with a barometer of the EU's ability to shape and influence human rights policy in states with little or no prospect of membership. An analysis of the EU's rhetorical and substantive responses to human rights abuses in Chechnya will re veal the limitations of human rights as a central organizing principle within the CFSP when it is applied to its external relations. This article argues that over the last decade, the EU has sacrificed a coherent and systematic advancement of its normative agenda in favor of strengthening its relations with the Russian Federa tion, a key strategic partner. The largest member states have driven forward the formulation and implementation of EU policy in ways that have generated short term political capital for policy makers at the expense of undercutting the role, function, and integrity of key EU institutions over the longer term.