The concept of Multipolarity in Russia’s Foreign Policy doctrine : How is the concept of multipolarity framed in the Russian Foreign Policy Concepts (2000- 2023) and does the development indicate a Eurasianist or realist framing logic?

Sammanfattning

This thesis evaluates the development of multipolarity as a concept in Russian Foreign Policy. By investigating if the framing is either marked by realist or Eurasianist logic, I attempt to enlighten the changes multipolarity has undergone since 2000 up until 2023. This study uses a constructivist framing approach to follow the discursive changes seen in three different state sources, namely, Foreign Policy documents, National Security Strategies and certain speeches. The analysis uncovered three periods of framing changes to the multipolar concept. The first period (2000-2008) manifested a realist framing to multipolarity, portraying it as a concept used in balancing the power dynamics in a dominant Western led world. The second period (2008-2016) marked the initiation of Eurasianist language and hybrid framing, demonstrating the beginning of rhetoric, where values and traditions became deeply rooted with security concerns, something, which was non-existent in the first period. The last period (2016-2023) shows perhaps the most interesting finding, namely that Eurasianist logic becomes the dominant framing logic in this period. The analysis undertaken shows that both realist and Eurasianist framing reinforce each other and that multipolarity in Russian foreign policy has a performative nature. Not only is the multipolar concept able to diagnose the global trends, it also prescribes Russia’s actions to them. The study concludes that Russia will utilize the two framing possibilities to manoeuvre between the West and the East to maximize its grand foreign policy strategy.