Security, Civilisation and Modernisation: Continuity and Change in the Russian Foreign Policy Discourse
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: This study analyses official Russian foreign policy discourses to contribute to our understanding of how Russia portrays its role in world politics and vis-à-vis neighbouring states.Building on previous studies, we offer a new, comprehensive analysis of Foreign Policy Concepts and the annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly during President Vladimir Putin's third term (2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018).By systematically coding these documents, counting references to particular discourses and undertaking a careful interpretation of the texts, we provide insights about three broader discourses related to foreign policy: the world order and sovereignty; civilisation, identity and values; and economics and modernisation.THE RETURN OF VLADIMIR PUTIN TO THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENCY IN 2012 saw a renewed interest in official foreign policy discourses.Commentators claimed that the beginning of Putin's third term (2012-2018) marked a turn in Russian foreign policy discourse away from the pragmatism that was often seen as the hallmark of his first two terms as president from 2000 to 2008 (Lo 2003, pp.104-6;, pp.104-6; Light 2015, p. 18; Tsygankov 2016b, pp.167-72).This new turn has been variously described as civilisational (Linde 2016, pp.622-23) or conservative (Tsygankov 2014, p. 60).We examine whether official discourses in foreign policy doctrines and speeches from 2012 to 2018 actually reflected more continuity than change, and identify which themes became prominent within these discourses during Putin's third term.Official foreign policy discourses are a valuable source of information about Russia's international ambitions and the image it wants to project to external audiences (Ambrosio & Vandrovec 2013, pp.439-40).Of course, official documents do not always overlap
Source: Europe Asia Studies
Authors: Matthew Frear, Honorata Mazepus
Institutions: Leiden University, Hague Institute for Global Justice
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W3109549169