Students’ research. New Practices of Small States in the European Union: The Case of Lithuanian “Advocacy” for Ukraine

Project idea

The main goal of the project is to develop practical research skills by analyzing Lithuania's behavior as a small member state of the European Union in the context of external relations and, as a result, propose a new theoretical model of small member state behavior. The study will analyze a case study of Lithuanian-Ukrainian cooperation. Combining different insights from theories of international relations, theoretical approaches to the study of small states, and legal theories, the study will analyze the peculiarities of the behavior of a small Central European Member State. The research question will seek to answer how Lithuania operates in its external relations with Ukraine in order to strengthen its role in the European Union and in the international arena by (not) exploiting the opportunities provided by the EU. Qualitative semi-structured interviews will be used to collect empirical data, responsibly selecting potential respondents who are directly involved in the processes of formation and implementation of Lithuanian-Ukrainian cooperation, encountering the subtleties of forming this Lithuanian position. In addition, the analysis of primary and secondary sources will be used.