The Party Politics of Geopolitics. The European Parliament and Relations with Russia and the US

Russia and USA are two main “geopolitical others” of the European Union. Different geopolitical worldviews and normative commitments therefore often clash when relations with Russia and the USA are at stake. Whereas most analyses focus on differences between EU member states and their foreign policy traditions, this paper examines to what extent and in what way contestation is driven by party politics by studying roll call votes in the European Parliament. We show that voting behaviour is influenced first and foremost by MEPs’ affiliation with one of the political groups, not by their membership in a national delegation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that support for Russia and the US follows a bell-curve where political groups at the centre are most supportive of the USA and most critical of Russia whereas political groups at the far ends of the left/right spectrum are most critical of the US and most supportive of Russia. By comparing votes in the three last European Parliaments (2004-2019), we finally show that the election of Trump and the annexation of Ukraine have led to a politicization of European politics.