title: Strategic Surprise in the Ukraine Crisis : Agendas, expectations and organizational dynamics in the EU Eastern Partnership until the annexation of Crimea 2014
abstract: This thesis deals with the problem of how to understand and explain strategic surprise in relation to the crisis in Ukraine 2013-2014. It describes the events that triggered surprise and identifies the EU Vilnius Summit, the Maidan square massacre and the annexation of Crimea as focus points. Using a theoretical framework based on surprise theory, the thesis examines the agenda of the EU Eastern Partnership, the psychology of Foreign Ministers Carl Bildt and Radek Sikorski before the identified 