Integration Agenda in the Official Discourse of the Member States of Union State

Amidst a transforming global agenda and a redistribution of influence, the substantive emphasis of international partnerships and their institutional logic are shifting. These processes, often with contradictory consequences, affect many influential associations, including the EU and NATO. Non-Western structures and platforms are gaining additional opportunities. Russia and its closest ally, Belarus, facing intense external pressure, are attempting to build their potential not only for effective resistance but also for constructive internal development. They see significant opportunities in the integration arena. This article tests the hypothesis of a convergence of thematic priorities and conceptual frameworks of the integration agenda shaped by the national authorities of the two countries. The empirical base includes a set of official conceptual and strategic documents, as well as public statements by government officials. Methodologically, the study combines formalized content analysis, which allowed for the identification of frequency and thematic patterns, with a qualitative analysis of documents. A comprehensive examination of these sources allowed us to identify similarities and differences in the approaches of the two countries. A convergence of positions and discursive practices across a broad thematic spectrum is demonstrated, with articulation of economic issues. Russia and Belarus currently demonstrate a similar vision of the Union State as a unique and simultaneously model integration format for other regional associations. Integration within this framework is linked to broader spatial processes within Greater Eurasia. Overall, the approaches of Russia and Belarus are characterized by a pragmatism of integration interaction.

1. Avatkov V.A., Evstafyev D.G. (2024) Postsovetskaja Evrazija i global'nyj institucional'nyj krizis [Post-Soviet Eurasia and global institutional crisis]. Rossija i sovremennyj mir [Russia and the Conremporary World] (3): 42–58. DOI: 10.31249/rsm/2024.03.03. (In Russian).

2. Bakhlov I.V., Bakhlova O.V. (2025) Ideja patriotizma v povestke Sojuznogo gosudarstva: pozicii politicheskogo i jekspertnogo soobshhestva [The idea of patriotism in the Union State agenda: positions of political and expert community]. Mirovaja jekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [World Economy and International Relations] 69(3): 86–98. DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2025-69-3-86-98. (In Russian).

3. Bakhlova O.V. (2022) Dinamika integracionnoj povestki v Sodruzhestve Nezavisimyh Gosudarstv [Dynamics of the integration agenda in the Commonwealth of Independent States]. Social'nye novacii i social'nye nauki [Social Novelties and Social Sciences] (2): 9–21. DOI: 10.31249/sn/2022.02.01. (In Russian).

4. Bakhlova O.V., Uliashkina E.G. (2021) Sojuznoe gosudarstvo v sovremennom politicheskom diskurse Rossii [The Union State in the modern political discourse of Russia]. Izvestija Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaja serija. Serija: Sociologija. Politologija [Izvestiya of Saratov University. Sociology. Politology] 21(4): 435–441. DOI: 10.18500/1818-9601-202121-4-435-441. (In Russian).

5. Basov F.A. (2019) Razvitie otnoshenij Evrosojuza i Belorussii [Development of the European Union – Belarus relations]. Mirovaja jekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [World Economy and International Relations] 63(9): 69–75. DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2019-63-969-75. (In Russian).

6. Baykov A.A. (2017) Jekonomicheskaja integracija kak miropoliticheskoe javlenie. Ocherk teorii i metodologii sravnitel'noj ocenki [Economic Regionalism as a Planetary Phenomenon. Theory and Methodology of Comparison]. Kontury global'nyh transformacij: politika, jekonomika, pravo [Outlines of global transformations: politics, economics, law] 10(4): 38–53. DOI: 10.23932/2542-0240-2017-10-4-38-53. (In Russian).

7. Belashchenko D.A., Tolkachev V.V., Shodzhonov I.F. (2020) Evrazijskij jekonomicheskij sojuz: perspektivy i problemy integracii na postsovetskom prostranstve [Eurasian Economic Union: Prospects and Problems of Integration in the Post-Soviet Space]. Vestnik Rossijskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Serija: Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [Vestnik RUDN. International Relations] 20(3): 543–559. DOI: 10.22363/2313-0660-2020-20-3-543-559. (In Russian).

8. Dynkin A.A., Telegina E.A., Khalova G.O. (2018) Rol' Evrazijskogo jekonomicheskogo sojuza v formirovanii Bol'shoj Evrazii [The role of the Eurasian Economic Union in the formation of Great Eurasia] Mirovaja jekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [World Economy and International Relations] 62(4): 5–24. DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2018-62-4-5-24. (In Russian).

9. Evstafiev D.G. (2020) Novaja Evrazija kak global'noe konkurentnoe prostranstvo: perspektivy i vozmozhnosti sohranenija integrirovannosti [New Eurasia as a global environment for competition: the perspectives and the potential for preserving the integration] Vestnik RGGU. Serija «Politologija. Istorija. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija» [RSUH/RGGU Bulletin. “Political Science. History. International Relations” Series] (2): 62–76. DOI: 10.28995/20736339-2020-2-62-76. (In Russian).

10. Gaman-Golutvina O.V. (2024) Sohranitsja li Staryj Svet v novom mire? [Will the Old World be preserved in the new world?]. Sravnitel'naja politika [Comparative Politics Russia] 15(2): 4–10. (In Russian).

11. Garbuzarova E.G. (2020) Gosudarstvennyj suverenitet v kontekste evrazijskoj integracii [State sovereignty in the context of Eurasian integration]. Sravnitel'naja politika [Comparative Politics Russia] 11(2): 28–35. DOI: 10.24411/2221-3279-2020-10016. (In Russian).

12. Cobb R. (1971) The Politics of Agenda-Building: An Alternative Perspective for Modern Democratic Theory. The Journal of Politics 33(4): 892–915. DOI: 10.2307/2128415.

13. Götz E. (2024) Takeover by Stealth: The Curious Case of Russia’s Belarus Policy. Problems of Post-Communism 71(3): 206–218. DOI: 10.1080/10758216.2023.2224570.

14. Hoffmann S. The European Sisyphus: Essays on Europe, 1964-1994. New York, Routledge. 326 p.

15. Hooghe L., Marks G. (2019) Grand theories of European Integration in the Twenty-first Century. Journal of European Public Policy 26(8): 1113–1133. DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2019.1569711.

16. Kharitonova N.I. (2023) Aktual'naja povestka dlja EAJeS [Current agenda for the EAEU] Postsovetskie issledovaniya [Post-Soviet Studies] 8(6): 880–889. (In Russian).

17. Kolosov V.A., Zotova M.V., Popov F.A. et al. (2018) Postsovetskoe pogranich'e Rossii mezhdu Vostokom i Zapadom (analiz politicheskogo diskursa). Chast' II. Gljadja na Vostok [Russia's post-Soviet Borderzone in between East and West (analysis of political discourse). Part II: Looking East. Polis. Politicheskie issledovaniia [Polis. Political Studies] (5): 57–69. DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2018.05.06. (In Russian).

18. Kosov A.P., Yurchak D.V. (2021) Respublika Belarus’ v integratsionnykh protsessakh na postsovetskom prostranstve [The Republic of Belarus in the Integration Processes in the PostSoviet Space]. Vitebsk: VSU named after P.M. Masherov. 387 p. (In Russian).

19. Krickovic A. (2014) Imperial nostalgia or prudent geopolitics? Russia's efforts to reintegrate the post-Soviet space in geopolitical perspective. Post-Soviet Affairs 30(6): 503–528. DOI: 10.1080/1060586X.2014.900975.

20. Lapenko M.V., Serdyukov I.A. (2024) Evrazijskaja integracija v rossijskoj politicheskoj povestke: kolichestvennyj analiz veb-sajtov politicheskih partij [Russian political agenda on Eurasian integration: quantitative analysis of the political parties’ websites]. Postsovetskie issledovaniya [Post-Soviet Studies] 7(1): 50–60. (In Russian).

21. Malyshev D. (2024) Sojuznoe gosudarstvo posle dvadcatiletnego jubileja [The Union State after the 20th Anniversary] Mirovaja jekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [World Economy and International Relations] 68(5): 106–116. DOI: 10.20542/0131-22272024-68-5-106-116. (In Russian).

22. Moravcsik A. (1997) Taking preferences seriously: A liberal theory of international politics. International Organization. 51(4): 513–553. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/002081897550447.23.

23. Ovcharenko D.V. (2023) Perspektivy razvitija EAJeS v uslovijah protivostojanija Rossii i Zapada [Prospects for the development of the EAEU amid a confrontation between Russia and the West]. Problemy postsovetskogo prostranstva [Post-Soviet Issues] 10(4): 356–364. DOI: 10.24975/2313-8920-2023-10-4-356-364. (In Russian).

24. Pantin V.I. (2022) Ideologicheskie osnovy evrazijskoj jekonomicheskoj integracii [The ideological foundations of Eurasian economic integration]. Vestnik Rossijskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Serija: Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [Vestnik RUDN. International Relations] 22(1): 17–29. DOI: 10.22363/2313-0660-2022-22-1-17-29. (In Russian).

25. Pierson-Lyzhina E. (2021) Actors of Belarusian “Multivector” Foreign Policy towards the EU in the 2010s. The Journal of Belarusian Studies 11(1): 1–31. DOI: 10.30965/2052651212350007.

26. Schmidt V. (2008) Discursive Institutionalism: The Explanatory Power of Ideas and Discourse. Annual Review of Political Science 11(1): 303–326. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.060606.135342.

27. Shmelev B.A. (2024) Sojuznoe gosudarstvo Rossii i Belorussii: mif ili real'nost'? [The Union State of Russia and Belarus: myth or reality?] Mir peremen [The World of Transformations] (1): 53–67. DOI: 10.51905/2073-3038_2024_1_53. (In Russian).

28. Sinclair B. (2006) Party Wars: Polarization and the Politics of National Policy Making. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press. 424 p.

29. Smirnov V.A., Sutyrin V.V. (2024) Evrazijskij integracionnyj proekt Rossii: Perspektivy simmetrichnoj modeli razvitija [The Russian Project of Eurasian Integration: towards the symmetric development model] Mirovaja jekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [World Economy and International Relations] 68(12): 122–134. DOI: 10.20542/0131-22272024-68-12-122-134. (In Russian).

30. Tsikhamirau A.V. (2022) Evrazijskij komponent vo vneshnej politike Respubliki Belarus' v 1991–2021 gg. [The Eurasian component in the foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus, 1991–2021]. Vestnik Rossijskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Serija: Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija [Vestnik RUDN. International Relations] 22(1): 77–93. DOI: 10.22363/23130660-2022-22-1-77-93. (In Russian).

31. Vagapov D.R. (2024) Integracionnaja povestka v dejatel'nosti organov Sojuznogo gosudarstva Belarusi i Rossii [Integration Agenda in Government Work of the Union State of Belarus and Russia]. Vestnik Kemerovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriia: Politicheskie, sotsiologicheskie i ekonomicheskie nauki [Bulletin of Kemerovo State University. Series: Political, Sociological and Economic Sciences] 9(3): 317–325. DOI: 10.21603/2500-3372-2024-9-3-317-325. (In Russian).

32. Vardomsky L.B. (2024) Sojuznoe gosudarstvo Belarus' – Rossija za chetvert' veka: ot stolknovenija interesov k novoj modeli sotrudnichestva [The Belarus-Russia Union State in a quarter of a century: from a clash of interests to a new model of cooperation] Mir peremen [The World of Transformations] (4): 75–90. (In Russian).

33. Vatyl V. (2025) Sojuznoe gosudarstvo kak model' uglublennoj evrazijskoj integracii: funkcional'nye harakteristiki [The Union State as a model of Eurasian deep integration: the main institutions of activity] Vestnik Grodnenskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta imeni Janki Kupaly. Serija 1. Istorija i arheologija. Filosofija. Politologija [Vesnik of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno. Series 1. History and Archaeology. Philosophy. Political Science] 17(1): 157–162. (In Russian).

34. Vieira A. (2017) A Tale of Two Unions: Russia–Belarus Integration Experience and its Lessons for the Eurasian Economic Union. Journal of Borderlands Studies 32(1): 41–53. DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2016.1211959.

35. Vorobyev P. (2019) Rossijskoe i evropejskoe napravlenija vo vneshnej politike Respubliki Belarus' [The Republic of Belarus in the Common Neighborhood of the Russian Federation and the European Union] Sovremennaja Evropa [Contemporary Europe] (4): 185–196. DOI: 10.15211/soveurope42019185195. (In Russian).

36. Zhiltsov S.S. (2024) Politika Rossii na evrazijskom prostranstve v uslovijah konfrontacii s Zapadom [Russia’s policy in the Eurasian area amid confrontation with the West. Problemy postsovetskogo prostranstva [Post-Soviet Issues] 11(4): 270–283. DOI: 10.24975/23138920-2024-11-4-270-283. (In Russian).