The “Minsk Process”- societal perceptions and narratives

Druey, Cécile; Hess, Anna (11 September 2020). The “Minsk Process”- societal perceptions and narratives (Unpublished). In: Transculturality in the Black Sea Region: New Theoretical Approaches and Research Methodologies. Chisinau (Moldova)/St.Gallen (Switzerland). 10-12 September 2020.

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The official peace process to settle the conflict in the east of Ukraine, otherwise called the "Minsk Process", has been going on since 2014 with very little tangible success. At the heart of the Minsk process there are the so called Minsk agreements, which are comprised of about 13 key provisions that if implemented would allow for a sustainable settlement of the conflict. Focusing on the border control as one of the key provisions of the Minsk agreements, this paper illustrates the diverse range of perceptions of people and their underlying fears. It is based on the study “Minsk Process as perceived from within” (2017-2020) and looks at the societal perceptions of the key security, political and socio-economic provisions of the Minsk agreements both in Ukraine and in Russia. Through qualitative interviews conducted in Ukraine (including non-controlled areas) and Russia, the paper based on the above-mentioned study explores the reasons why the respondents are for or against the restoration of border control, and what are the factors that could contribute to implementation of border control or hinder it. It is worth noting that although the positions of the respondents from the different regions are seemingly incompatible, their underlying interests, fears and needs, are often the same. For example, Ukraine's need for full border control as a sovereign state in light of its national security is not questioned by the respondents from any side. There are, however, considerable fears and reservations amongst different parts of the population, especially in the non-governmentally controlled areas of the Donbas regarding the implementation of the border control. This is partly due to their own experiences and the new reality created by the conflict, and partly due to the lack of well-informed societal discourse about the "Minsk Agreements" and their implementation.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Division/Institute:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of History
UniBE Contributor:	Druey Schwab, Cécile Elisabeth
Language:	English
Submitter:	Cécile Elisabeth Druey Schwab
Date Deposited:	31 Mar 2021 08:35
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 15:49
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/153796