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# Europe looks east, and moves
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/europe-looks-east-and-moves-on/
- Published: 2008-09-16T20:09:59.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-14T22:59:14.000Z
- Author: openDemocracy Supporters
- Tags: #en, #Migrated, #Import 2026-04-09 19:46

The messy and disputatious aftermath of the war over South Ossetia promises to be as unsettling as the short and nasty armed conflict itself. What started in a corner of the corner of the Caucasus is being factored in to the calculations of diplomats, politicians and military leaders worldwide. Much attention is focusing on Russian policy and ambitions: was its Georgia campaign a one-off, or a template for a grander strategy of seeking vulnerable pressure-points in its "near abroad" so that it can expand its influence? Many analysts too examine the role in relation to Georgia of a United States distracted by electoral politics and financial crisis but determined not to cede power in a country it has long cultivated.

Europe's role in the conflict is equally intriguing, however. Two **openDemocracy** contributors look at what the European Union might learn from the war and contribute to a longer-term settlement in the Caucasus and in other regions of conflict on its own periphery. [Paul Gillespie](https://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-european-union-and-russia-after-georgia) of the *Irish Times* suggests that the EU needs to refine its "external policy" in ways that emphasise the differences between its use of power and that of Washington: "In several major respects the emergent EU strategy is pitched against US policy in a context where US unilateralism is losing its strength."  
  
[Krzysztof Bobinski](https://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-caucasus-effect-europe-unblocked) of *Unia & Polska*, meanwhile, notes the tendency of Polish media to retreat into comfortable stereotypes of European infirmity and Russian strength. But look closer, he advises: from Ukraine to Turkey and Finland to Poland itself, the post-war weeks have brought a series of unexpected developments. Europe is on the move; it's time to pay attention. "Europe since the armed confrontation of August 2008 ended has become a more interesting place. Clear eyes and open minds will be needed if it is to become a safer place too."