Russian narrative of intervention in Syrian civil war : Critical examination of the Russian discourse describing Russian intervention in Syrian civil war from September 2015 to March 2016
Date
2018
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Tartu Ülikool
Abstract
This thesis critically examines the Russian military intervention in Syria during
the period of September 2015 – March 2016. It is a study that contributes to the analysis
of the interrelation of two areas of political studies: media studies and foreign policy. In
order to describe the logic behind Russian participation in the Syrian conflict, a social
constructivist reading is suggested; according to which, the way the discourse of the
Russian intervention has been presented in Russian media indicates the primary role of
specific understanding of the ethical goals of Russian foreign policy. Specifically, the
Russian military intervention in Syria is driven, according to the Russian discourse, by
the need to present itself to the world as a “good actor” through a “just war.”
Applying the method of qualitative discourse analysis, the thesis deconstructs
the Russian narrative of intervention in the Syrian civil war through the Russian
perspective. The results indicate the particular importance of the social function of war
in Russian foreign policy – the importance of its performative and communicative
aspect. Moreover, the result is a perceived conflict between two logics of understanding
of the International – transcendental and local-centered – is revealed as a potential
driving force of the modern tensions in the relationship between Russian and the West.
As a result, a key problem in said relationship is the problem of communication:
the lack of language both parties would understand. Without such a language, the
actions of the opponent are continually interpreted, not from the perspective of the
partner, but from the perspective of the viewer, which in the case of Russian-West
discourse results in accusations of dishonesty and hypocrisy.
Finally, the research highlights how the discourse of Syrian intervention is
constructed and reflects the social function of war in Russia in general. This function of
a “just war” (and any war in Russia is ‘just’ by default) is to serve as the moral
cornerstone of the country’s identity, as the mechanism of consolidation and
purification. It appears that the historical origins of this discursive model of war can be
traced back to the period of World War II.
In conclusion, this thesis suggests the need for the further studies of the
connections between the ways identity is constructed linguistically in the narratives of
foreign policy and decisions made by politicians. Another question of utmost
importance is whether there is a substitution to war as a social mechanism of Russian
society to experience its moral appropriateness and adherence to moral standards of
justice.