Russlands Statusstreben und die liberale internationale Ordnung. Was eine Emotionen-fokussierte Analyse der Beziehungen zwischen Russland und dem Westen zutage fördert

Abstract

Despite continued weak economic performance, Russia displays high determination to increase its global influence. On the one hand, hard power and the use of violence play a much greater role as foreign policy tools than a few years ago. On the other hand, Russia seems to be pursuing the goal of overthrowing the liberal international order, thereby also accepting long-term distortions of relations especially with the West. What are the links between Russia’s conflict-laden, aggressive foreign policy and the liberal international order? In this article, the conflictual dynamics between Russia and the West are primarily understood as conflicts over social status. An emotion-focused analysis of official Russian speech between 1994 and 2015 shows how the subjective status expectations of Russian decision-makers have affected their attitudes and policies towards the West and the post-Cold War liberal order.