THE CONCEPT OF “COLLECTIVE WEST” IN RUSSIAN POLITICAL DISCOURSE AFTER 2022
Muhamed JASHARI
Abstract
Relations between various actors inevitably go through ups and downs. In this context, the relationship between the Russian state and Western countries has also evolved in a similar manner. From a cooperative atmosphere that prevailed in the early 2000s, moving toward pronounced rivalry as a result of opposing worldviews regarding Eastern Europe—specifically the post-Soviet region—this relationship reached its lowest point following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, which practically overturned the European order established after World War II. In addition to repositioning itself politically, economically, and militarily vis-à-vis Western countries and institutions, the Russian state also found space in its official rhetoric for the concept of the “Collective West,” thereby articulating a new Russian perception of Western states. Although this phrase appeared sporadically before 2022, its permanent use by Russian officials after this period emerged as a public discourse and mobilization tool to justify the war in Ukraine and, more broadly, Russia's extreme rivalry with the West.
This article aims to examine how Russian politics—mainly the presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—have framed the rivalry with the West and Western institutions in identity-based and civilizational terms. The way in which Russian political discourse has depicted the West since 2022 reflects a historical continuity in perceiving the West as the significant “Other” in the construction of state identity. The paper employs a qualitative research approach and relies on secondary sources, including state documents, official speeches, memoirs, and other materials
Pages: 22 - 30