Rebordering Europe in the Ukraine War: community building without capacity building

How has the European Union (EU) developed in reaction to Russo-Ukrainian war, its most severe military threat since end of Cold War? In a ‘bordering’ analysis political development, this article studies changes closure and control EU’s boundaries with Russia Ukraine as well internal between 2013 August 2022. It finds that response hitherto consisted regulatory process community building without concomitant capacity building. Whereas EU increasingly closed Russia, it progressively opened towards Ukraine. By contrast, war so far not had discernible impact on boundary configuration authority for control. These preliminary findings are line developmental path ‘regulatory state’. More than half year into invasion, they stand contrast ‘bellicist’ expectations centralised threats.