This Seminar highlights Ukraine as an example of limited economic decoupling, a process shaped by entrenched trade relations and business networks.
Europe’s growing vulnerability to weaponised interdependence—where trade and financial ties are leveraged as tools of coercion—has become a pressing strategic concern. This challenge was recently underscored by Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the European Union address, highlighting the urgency for the EU to strengthen its economic resilience and defensive capacity to pursue economic decoupling.
This talk examines Ukraine’s post-2014 experience as a revealing case of the complexities involved in building such capacity. Despite strong geopolitical incentives to decouple from Russia following the annexation of Crimea and the military conflict in Donbas, Ukraine maintained significant ties to Russia in key sectors such as petroleum imports and banking until Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Why did economic decoupling remain limited? The talk introduces a theory of limited economic decoupling, showing how entrenched business networks can undermine economic statecraft. It argues that in contexts of lower-intensity conflict, the alignment of foreign economic actors with domestic business elites can dilute political will and weaken institutional capacity, making full decoupling difficult to achieve.
By linking Ukraine’s experience to broader academic debates and current EU policy discussions, the talk offers insights into the structural constraints that shape state responses to geopolitical threats under conditions of weaponised interdependence.
Presenters:
Dr Inna Melnykovska, Jean Monnet Fellow, RSC EUI
Ihor Moshenets, PhD Candidate at Central European University, Erasmus Visiting Doctoral Researcher at the European University Institute
The Schuman Centre’s Seminar Series consists of weekly sessions where all members of the Centre can present ongoing work, including work-in-progress and discussions on topical issues. The series alternates between presentations of research projects by our postdoctoral fellows and sessions featuring presentations and debates with both internal and external speakers on a wide range of topics.
At the EUI and the Robert Schuman Centre, we are dedicated to removing barriers and providing equal opportunities for everyone. Please indicate in the registration form your accessibility needs, if any. Alternatively, you can contact the logistics organiser of the event.