I’ll See It When I Believe It: Russian Foreign Policy Elite, Historical Analogies and Metaphors

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2020-06-28
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en
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This research addresses the use of historical analogies and metaphors as the basis for foreign policy decision-making by the Russian foreign policy elite towards the Russian intervention in Syria in 2015. The research question of this thesis is to what extent can Russian foreign policy towards Syria in 2011 to 2015 be explained through the use of historical analogies and historical metaphors with respect to the belief systems of the Russian foreign policy elite. The study is a single case study with empirical materials studied in Russian. Theories used in this research are belief system theory and schema theory, from which the concepts of consistency seeker and cognitive miser are drawn. The method for analysis is theory-testing process tracing and qualitative content analysis. The results of the study indicate that members of the Russian foreign policy elite cannot be classified as cognitive misers. In addition, there is evidence suggesting that the decision-making of the Syrian intervention is based on historical analogies of past military interventions.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen