Seeking Status in the Middle East
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2020-06-26
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en
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Abstract
Moscow’s Middle East policy has propelled Russia towards an influential regional role as a power
broker in the wake of American retrenchment since the early 2010s. Yet, Russia’s new role has come
with unenviable burdens and, moreover, is poorly explained by referring to Russia’s clear material
interests in the region. Through insights of Social Psychology’s Social Identity Theory, this study
presents status aspirations as the main impetus of Russia’s Middle East policy. By employing a
process-tracing method, this study has found that Russia sought to pursue great power status through
the exercise of two identity management strategies, social competition and social creativity, from 2011
to 2016. Despite an array of military and diplomatic successes in Syria and beyond, it remains
doubtful whether Russia possesses sufficient material vigor to acquire recognition as a great power in
the Middle East.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen