Identification and physical disconnect in Russian foreign policy: Georgia as a Western proxy once again?
Evolving official Russian identifications of Georgia amount to a dangerous securitisation of this small neighbour – achieved through a focus not on Georgia itself but on Western engagement in the region. With the long absence of face-to-face diplomatic encounters and contact, the Russian idea of Georgia as a ‘Western proxy’ has become entrenched. This article advances a social explanation of Russian foreign policy that speaks to geopolitical explanations in foregrounding great power interaction and security by drawing on insights from a discourse-theoretical reading of securitisation theory. It adds value to social explanations by showing how the identification of another political entity can be changed into that of a ‘proxy’ through its integration into a larger ‘radically different other’, and how this expansion occurs in interplay with interpretations of physical manifestations of the larger ‘radically different other’ in the ‘proxy’. Finally, it draws attention to the impact of physical encounters on foreign policy in these times of COVID-19, war, and growing isolationism in world affairs.
Responsen på Ukraina-krigen viser en ny fellesnordisk linje i sikkerhetspolitikken
Op. Ed. about responses to the war in Ukraine, and changes in longstanding Nordic security and defence policies.
Vi må ikke lure oss selv til å tro at konflikten med Russland kan løses
The conflict between Russian and the West is about autocracy versus democracy. This cannot be resolved by diplomacy.
Er Russlands mobilisering et narrespill?
If Kremlin should attack Ukraine they are the only responsible party.
Nupi-forsker: – Mer enn 50 prosent sannsynlig at Russland angriper Ukraina
The chances of a Russian attack on Ukraine is above 50 percent
Al-Jazeera Arabic
The diplomatic efforts between the West and Russia over Ukraine. What are the prospects?
NRK Debatten
The current dramatic situation caused by the Russian military build-up around Ukraine.
Kunstige motsetninger – og ekte
About the US-Norweigian new bilateral defence agreement (SDCA)
Norsk-amerikansk forsvarssamarbeid: Risikerer vi horder av amerikanske soldater på norsk jord?
Can we expect masses of US soldiers on Norwegian soil as a result of the Security Defence Cooperation Agreement between the US and Norway?