Aridici, N.O. (2019) The power of civilizational nationalism in Russian foreign policy making. International Politics, 56 (5). pp. 605-621. ISSN 1384-5748
Abstract
The article draws upon theories of identity to understand Russian foreign policy towards Ukraine since 2000. The article argues that contemporary Russian foreign policy can be best understood as an articulation of ‘civilizational nationalism’ which relies on the myth of cultural superiority. The focus is on not only treating Russia as an imperial power, but on the cultural claims that this relies upon and its configuration within changing historical ideas of ‘Russianness’. Since the Orange Revolution, Russian presidents have accused Ukraine of following anti-Russian policies. This has been aided by a discourse of ‘civilizational nationalism’ where Ukraine is described as being part of a ‘Greater Russia’, rather than as a sovereign territory. This article analyses how imagined civilization and greatness of Russian culture is driving foreign policy making towards the Ukraine. Rather than an external territory, Ukraine is constructed as a ‘little brother’ which renders interventions legitimate.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2018. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in International Politics. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Civilizational nationalism; Putin; Nationalism; The Russian state; Russian foreign policy |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 May 2018 15:36 |
Last Modified: | 18 Nov 2020 08:30 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Nature |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1057/s41311-018-0159-8 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:130053 |