Great Power Identity And Status-Seeking: A Framework For Understanding Russian Interventions (2008-2022)

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 101 - 113, 30.12.2023

Süleyman Buğrahan Bayram

Abstract

This study locates recognitive dynamics and status-seeking considerations as the overarching impetus in Russian decision-making in the interventions in Georgia (2008), Syria (2015), and Ukraine (2014, 2022). Problematizing status-seeking via military means in Russian foreign policy, the article aims to propose a roadmap to detail the necessary focal points of inquiry on the respective cases. The proposed roadmap indicates that understanding the Russian interventions in question necessitates focusing on the interplay between Russian great power identity and the Russian perception of repeated misrecognition of this identity by its interlocutor, the US.

Keywords

Russian Interventionism, Great Power Identity, Status-Seeking, Military Intervention

Büyük Güç Kimliği Ve Statü-Arama: Rusya'nın Müdahalelerini Anlamak İçin Bir Çerçeve (2008-2022)

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Rusya'nın Gürcistan'a (2008), Suriye'ye (2015) ve Ukrayna'ya (2014, 2022) düzenlediği müdahalelerindeki karar alma süreçlerinin baskın iştiyakı olarak tanınma dinamikleri ve statü hesaplamalarını tayin etmektedir. Rus dış politikasında askeri araçlarla statü arayışını sorunsallaştıran bu makale, bahsekonu vakalara ilişkin araştırmaların odaklanması gereken noktaları detaylandıran bir çerçeve ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Önerilen çerçeve, Rusya'nın büyük güç kimliği ile bu kimliğin muhatabı ABD tarafından defalarca reddedildiğine dair Rus algısının arasındaki etkileşime odaklanmanın söz konusu Rus müdahalelerini anlamanın ön şartı olduğuna işaret etmektedir.

Keywords

Rus Müdahaleciliği, Büyük Güç Kimliği, Statü Arama, Askeri Müdahale

References

• Abdi, N. E. (2021). Energy and geo-economics: Evidence underpinning Russian intervention in Syria. Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, 6(3), 38–51. https://doi.org/10.47305/JLIA2163038ea
• Afridi, M. K., &. Jibran, A. (2018). Russian Response to Syrian Crisis: A Neorealist Perspective. Strategic Studies, 38(2), 56-70.
• Allan, P., & Keller, A. (2015). Is a just peace possible without thin and thick recognition? In International Politics of Recognition. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315633916
• Allison, R. (2013). Russia and Syria: Explaining alignment with a regime in crisis. International Affairs, 89(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12046
• Allison, R. (2014). Russian "deniable" intervention in Ukraine: How and why Russia broke the rules. International Affairs, 90(6), 1255–1297. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12170
• Ambrosetti, E. T., Lovotti, C., & Cherif, Y. (2020). Setting the Stage for Analyzing Russia's MENA "Return." In Russia in the Middle East and North Africa. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429286230-1
• Aridici, N. (2019). The power of civilizational nationalism in Russian foreign policy making. International Politics, 56(5), 605–621. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-018-0159-8
• Ashley, Richard K. (1986). "Poverty of Neorealism." In Neorealism and Its Critics, edited by Robert O. Keohane. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Bennett, A. (1999). Condemned to Repetition? The Rise, Fall, and Reprise of Soviet-Russian Military Interventionism, 1973–1996. The MIT Press.
• Biersack, J., & O'Lear, S. (2014). The geopolitics of Russia's annexation of Crimea: Narratives, identity, silences, and energy. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 55(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2014.985241
• Brands, H. W. (1987). Decisions on American Armed Intervention: Lebanon, Dominican Republic, and Grenada. Political Science Quarterly, 102(4). https://doi.org/10.2307/2151304
• Charap, S., Treyger, E., & Geist, E. (2019). Understanding Russia's Intervention in Syria. https://doi.org/10.7249/rr3180 Dannreuther, R. (2019). Understanding Russia's Return to the Middle East. International Politics, 56(6), 726–742. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-018-0165-x
• Elias, N. (1996). The Germans: Power Struggle and the Development of Habitus in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Columbia University Press.
• Elias, N., & Scotson, J. L. (1994). The Established and the Outsiders: A Sociological Enquiry into Community Problems. SAGE.
• Eriksen, M. (2021). Assessing Russia's doctrine of Realpolitik as strategic re-contouring of regional power-balance in the post-Soviet periphery. Politeja, 13(2 (41)). https://doi.org/10.12797/politeja.13.2016.41.16
• Forsberg, T. (2014). Status conflicts between Russia and the West: Perceptions and emotional biases. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 47(3–4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2014.09.006
• Freedman, J. (2016). Status insecurity and temporality in world politics. European Journal of International Relations, 22(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066115603781
• Freire, M. R., & Heller, R. (2018). Russia's Power Politics in Ukraine and Syria: Status-seeking between Identity, Opportunity and Costs. Europe - Asia Studies, 70(8). https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2018.1521914
• Götz, E. (2017). Putin, the state, and war: The causes of Russia's near abroad assertion revisited. International Studies Review, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viw009
• Harchaoui, J. (2021, January 7). The Pendulum: How Russia Sways Its Way to More Influence in Libya. War on the Rocks. https://warontherocks.com/2021/01/the-pendulum-how-russia-sways-its-way-to-more-influence-in-libya/
• Jervis, R. (1976). Perception and Misperception in World Politics. Princeton University Press.
• Karagiannis, E. (2014). The Russian Interventions in South Ossetia and Crimea Compared: Military Performance, Legitimacy and Goals. Contemporary Security Policy, 35(3), 400–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2014.963965
• Kozhanov, N. (2017). Russia and the Syrian Conflict. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1hj9wjf Lakomy, M. (2021). The Game of Ukraine: Conflict in Donbass as an Outcome of the Multilayered Rivalry. Politeja, 13(45), 279–315. https://doi.org/10.12797/politeja.13.2016.45.13
• Larson, D. W., & Shevchenko, A. (2014). Russia says no: Power, status, and emotions in foreign policy. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 47(3–4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2014.09.003
• Lavrov, S. (2013). Russia's Foreign Policy Philosophy. International Affairs, 8(3), Article 3.
• Lindemann, T. (2010). Causes of War (1st ed.). ECPR Press.
• Lister, T., Kiley, S., & Shukla, S. (2020, June 9). Russia makes "brazen" military intervention in Libyan conflict. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/09/world/russia-libya-military-intervention-intl/index.html
• Lupton, D. L. (2020). Reputation for Resolve. https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501747731
• Murray, M. (2018). The Struggle for Recognition in International Relations. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190878900.001.0001
• Narozhna, T. (2021). Revisiting the Causes of Russian Foreign Policy Changes: Incoherent Biographical Narrative, Recognition and Russia's Ontological Security-Seeking. Central European Journal of International and Security Studies, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.51870/CEJISS.A150203
• Neumann, I. (2015). I Remember When Russia Was a Great Power. Journal of Regional Security, 10(1), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.11643/issn.2217-995X151SPN56
• Neumann, I. (2008). Russia as a great power, 1815-2007. Journal of International Relations and Development, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1057/jird.2008.7
• Paul, T. V., Larson, D. W., & Wohlforth, W. C. (2014). Status and world order. In Status in World Politics. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107444409.002
• Posen, B. (2014). Restraint: A New Foundation for U.S. Grand Strategy. Cornell University Press.
• Reshetnikov, A. (2017). Intervention as Virtue, Obligation and Moral Duty: The Meaning of Russia's Rhetoric on Responsibility during the Georgian and the Crimean Crises. Russian Politics, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.1163/2451-8921-00202003
• Rezvani, B. (2020). Russian foreign policy and geopolitics in the Post-Soviet space and the Middle East: Tajikistan, Georgia, Ukraine and Syria. Middle Eastern Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/00263206.2020.1775590
• Ringmar, E. (2002). The Recognition Game: Soviet Russia Against the West. Cooperation and Conflict, 37(2), 115–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836702037002973
• Ringmar, E. (2015). Introduction: The international politics of recognition. In T. Lindemann & E Ringmar (Eds.), International Politics of Recognition. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315633916.
• Rondeli, A. (2010). The return of realpolitik: A view from Georgia. Open Democracy. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/return-of-realpolitik-view-from-georgia/
• Salajan, L. C. (2019). Russia as a Great Power and the Quest for International Recognition. Revista de Științe Politice. Revue Des Sciences Politiques, 64, 76–86.
• Simura, B. (2015). USA and Russia in Syria and Ukraine: The Irony of Geo-Political Interventions. Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, 14(1), 67–67. https://doi.org/10.21599/atjir.66684
• Smith, H. (2014). Russia as a great power: Status inconsistency and the two Chechen wars. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 47(3–4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2014.09.005
• Tellal, E. (2015). Kronik: Rusya Suriye'de ne arıyor? Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 70(4). https://doi.org/10.1501/sbfder_0000002382
• Trenin, D., & Novak, K. (2015). The Ukraine Crisis and the Resumption of Great Power Rivalry. Politicka Misao, 52(2). Tsygankov, A. P., & Tarver-Wahlquist, M. (2009). Duelling Honors: Power, Identity and the Russia-Georgia Divide. Foreign Policy Analysis, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-8594.2009.00095.x
• Vertzberger, Y. Y. I. (1994). The International Milieu and Foreign Military Intervention: When and How Much Does the Milieu Matter? Journal of Strategic Studies, 17(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402399408437558
• Vertzberger, Y. Y. I. (1995). Rethinking and Reconceptualizing Risk in Foreign Policy Decision-Making: A Sociocognitive Approach. Political Psychology, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.2307/3791835
• Volgy, T. J., Corbetta, R., Grant, K. A., & Baird, R. G. (2011). Major Power Status in International Politics. In Major Powers and the Quest for Status in International Politics. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119314_1