How identity and role influence russian foreign policy behavior in the Middle East: a focus on the israeli-palestinian conflict

• Autor(a) principal: Dangl, Bernadette
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/21557
• topic: Russian foreign policy; Middle East; Israeli-palestinian conflict; Constructivism; Role theory; Identity theory; Política externa russa; Médio Oriente; Conflito israelo-palestiniano; Construtivismo

Following Tsygankov’s (2012) premise that foreign policy actions are inseparable from their social context, the present study applies a constructivist approach to Russia's behavior in the Middle East, with a focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It analyzes a) which Russian identity and role conceptions have been established, b) how they have evolved over time, and c) whether discrepancies between Russia’s self and external perception exist. A discourse analysis serves as analytical framework, evaluating Russian foreign-policy behavior on three levels: state, society and international. These are reflected in official documents issued by the Russian government, as well as Russian and Western media coverage. The analysis concludes that Russian foreign policy in the Middle East is shaped through Russia’s carefully created cooperative social structures with regional actors, which enable Russia to assume a mediatorbalancer role in local conflicts. Meanwhile, its relation to the West continues to play a dominant part in Russia’s identity construction, which is reflected in its foreign-policy behavior throughout the Middle East. While both non-state Russian and Western media stress the great power identity in the Russian discourse, Russian authorities do not emphasize power as a motive for their actions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the other hand, opposed to their importance in the Middle Eastern region in general, Russia’s firm opposition to external regime change and its Eurasian multi-ethnic identity do not seem to influence Russia’s behavior in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular.