Bound to Interpret: Russia, NATO, and the Military-Political Crises in the Post-Cold War Order
The study of Russia’s foreign policy poses something of a paradox. On the one hand, Russia’s actions are viewed as aimed at revising the existing rules-based order built by the end of the Cold War. On the other hand, on numerous occasions, one pinpoints that Russia has devised a language similar to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Russian |
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MGIMO University Press
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Международная аналитика |
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| Online Access: | https://www.interanalytics.org/jour/article/view/294 |
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| author | N. Ya. Neklyudov |
| author_facet | N. Ya. Neklyudov |
| author_sort | N. Ya. Neklyudov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The study of Russia’s foreign policy poses something of a paradox. On the one hand, Russia’s actions are viewed as aimed at revising the existing rules-based order built by the end of the Cold War. On the other hand, on numerous occasions, one pinpoints that Russia has devised a language similar to the Western nations to justify its foreign policy. I call the phenomenon that explains this paradox the game of interpretation. The article illustrates how Russia is engaged in the game of interpretation with the West in the post-Cold War order by Russia’s appliance to the norm of humanitarian interventions. By analyzing the Russian discourse during the Russo-Georgian War (2008), I demonstrate how the Russian foreign policy leadership reproduces similar narrative patterns used by the West during the Kosovo War (1999). Exemplifying the game of interpretation by humanitarian interventionism is not accidental. Humanitarian interventionism is studied in the literature as being characteristic of the Western ‘ethical foreign policy’ originated by the end of the Cold War, with Russia being depicted as either skeptical or as an unequivocal opponent of such an approach in world politics. Methodologically, the work builds on quantitative and qualitative analysis of selected texts compiled from the archives of NATO and the US State Department, as well as the website “Kremlin.ru” and the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-86e8c7f68ba64f939f367ec871c43dfe |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2587-8476 2541-9633 |
| language | Russian |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MGIMO University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Международная аналитика |
| spelling | doaj-art-86e8c7f68ba64f939f367ec871c43dfe2025-08-20T03:37:19ZrusMGIMO University PressМеждународная аналитика2587-84762541-96332020-12-01113356010.46272/2587-8476-2020-11-3-35-60279Bound to Interpret: Russia, NATO, and the Military-Political Crises in the Post-Cold War OrderN. Ya. Neklyudov0Institute for International Studies, MGIMO UniversityThe study of Russia’s foreign policy poses something of a paradox. On the one hand, Russia’s actions are viewed as aimed at revising the existing rules-based order built by the end of the Cold War. On the other hand, on numerous occasions, one pinpoints that Russia has devised a language similar to the Western nations to justify its foreign policy. I call the phenomenon that explains this paradox the game of interpretation. The article illustrates how Russia is engaged in the game of interpretation with the West in the post-Cold War order by Russia’s appliance to the norm of humanitarian interventions. By analyzing the Russian discourse during the Russo-Georgian War (2008), I demonstrate how the Russian foreign policy leadership reproduces similar narrative patterns used by the West during the Kosovo War (1999). Exemplifying the game of interpretation by humanitarian interventionism is not accidental. Humanitarian interventionism is studied in the literature as being characteristic of the Western ‘ethical foreign policy’ originated by the end of the Cold War, with Russia being depicted as either skeptical or as an unequivocal opponent of such an approach in world politics. Methodologically, the work builds on quantitative and qualitative analysis of selected texts compiled from the archives of NATO and the US State Department, as well as the website “Kremlin.ru” and the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.https://www.interanalytics.org/jour/article/view/294russianatohumanitarian interventionalismthe game of interpretationdiscourse analysis |
| spellingShingle | N. Ya. Neklyudov Bound to Interpret: Russia, NATO, and the Military-Political Crises in the Post-Cold War Order Международная аналитика russia nato humanitarian interventionalism the game of interpretation discourse analysis |
| title | Bound to Interpret: Russia, NATO, and the Military-Political Crises in the Post-Cold War Order |
| title_full | Bound to Interpret: Russia, NATO, and the Military-Political Crises in the Post-Cold War Order |
| title_fullStr | Bound to Interpret: Russia, NATO, and the Military-Political Crises in the Post-Cold War Order |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bound to Interpret: Russia, NATO, and the Military-Political Crises in the Post-Cold War Order |
| title_short | Bound to Interpret: Russia, NATO, and the Military-Political Crises in the Post-Cold War Order |
| title_sort | bound to interpret russia nato and the military political crises in the post cold war order |
| topic | russia nato humanitarian interventionalism the game of interpretation discourse analysis |
| url | https://www.interanalytics.org/jour/article/view/294 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nyaneklyudov boundtointerpretrussianatoandthemilitarypoliticalcrisesinthepostcoldwarorder |