| Keywords [eng] |
conservative, Georgia, Russia, narrative, soft power, sharp power, tradition, religion, nationalism, identity |
| Abstract [eng] |
The primary purpose for this thesis was to identify the key principles and means of the usage of Russia-specific conservative narratives as a tool to influence Georgian political elite and society. The research was oriented on analyzing the available data related to the most instructive cases that might suggest manifestations of the specific conservative narratives, by conducting interviews with the specialists in the field as well as studying surveys and research that have already been made and analyzing how Russia-specific conservative narratives are related with the concepts of “soft” and “sharp power” and compare them with other theoretical innovations. The thesis first examined the literature concerning the matter, which provides broad information about all possible theories and practices that can be used by the Kremlin for its foreign policy goals in general and in Georgia, specifically conservative agenda. Due to the fact that soft power is mentioned in official documents of Russia as a tool of Foreign Policy, one of the chosen theories was Joseph Nye's theory of soft power. However, the study showed that based on the Georgian specifics, the Kremlin replaced soft power with the theory of sharp power earned by Christopher Walker and Jessica Ludwig. As for methodology, method of analyzing secondary sources and interview method were chosen with experts who have relevant knowledge of Russia’s foreign policy, specifically, soft power. 24 people were interviewed. The time frame of the research was 2012-2020, because throughout this period pro-Russian groups and far-rights were increased which caused political upheavals at the national level that threatens Georgia’s foreign policy. The data was collected from different websites in three languages: Georgian, English and Russian. It included articles, books, opinions, research and surveys. The study showed that this conservative toolbox consist of three main parts:religion, nationalism and traditions, where the Georgian patriarchate has a key role in shaping public opinion with far-right, Fascist and ultra-nationalist organizations. The Kremlin is using local pro-Russian actors to apply conservative narratives on Georgian society in order to create and/or nurture negative attitudes towards the West with the ultimate goal of cutting the country off from the European path.as well as to isolate Georgia from current or potential strategic partners in its neighborhood by instilling widespread fears against them and sustaining anti-Western public opinion with relatively small but frequent political blows to delay the process of joining the EU and NATO. The aim of the thesis was reached. Interviews and literature analysis allowed to prove that the conservative agenda is one of the useful tools in the arsenal of the Kremlin propaganda to achieve its Foreign Policy goals in Georgia. |
