The Arctic in Contemporary Russian Politics: How the Putin Regime Uses the Arctic to Support its Fragile Legitimacy and Strengthen Russia’s National Identity

This thesis examines what role the Arctic plays in contemporary Russian politics. For this purpose, a thorough analysis of the Russian domestic discourse on the Arctic region is conducted. The discourse analysis covers the period 2007-2018 and focuses on a few key figures who have arguably a significant impact on the Arctic discourse due to their centrality in Russian politics. The analysis shows that the individual narratives on the Arctic strengthen Russian national identity by promoting notions of foreign encirclement and the country’s exceptionalism and great power identity. Moreover, the discourse on the Arctic is provided with a temporal and overall coherence by selectively manipulating historical memory and drawing on a wide range of symbolic actions. In the second part of the paper the findings from the analysis are placed within the wider Russian political context. Thereby, it is shown that the Arctic discourse is not an isolated phenomenon, but that it is representative of...Show moreThis thesis examines what role the Arctic plays in contemporary Russian politics. For this purpose, a thorough analysis of the Russian domestic discourse on the Arctic region is conducted. The discourse analysis covers the period 2007-2018 and focuses on a few key figures who have arguably a significant impact on the Arctic discourse due to their centrality in Russian politics. The analysis shows that the individual narratives on the Arctic strengthen Russian national identity by promoting notions of foreign encirclement and the country’s exceptionalism and great power identity. Moreover, the discourse on the Arctic is provided with a temporal and overall coherence by selectively manipulating historical memory and drawing on a wide range of symbolic actions. In the second part of the paper the findings from the analysis are placed within the wider Russian political context. Thereby, it is shown that the Arctic discourse is not an isolated phenomenon, but that it is representative of a general shift towards an increasingly nationalist and patriotic rhetoric during Putin’s third term in office. It is argued that by creating a coherent and compelling national identity, the Putin regime seeks to buttress its fragile legitimacy. These findings imply that foreign observers and representatives need to be aware of Russian domestic political developments in order to properly assess Russia’s actions and interests in the Arctic region.Show less

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The Arctic in Contemporary Russian Politics: How the Putin Regime Uses the Arctic to Support its Fragile Legitimacy and Strengthen Russia’s National Identity