On the Geopolitical Discourses of the Russian Yabloko Association, 1993-2001

In: Geopolitics, Band 8, Heft 1, S. 149-180

Abstract

This article draws attention to the competitive & changing nature of the discursive field of Russian geopolitics. In particular, the article focuses on the geopolitical discourses of the Yabloko Assoc (from 2001, the Democratic Party of Russia, Yabloko). In the discursive study of geopolitics, which is well developed in the critical geopolitics literature, the study of the geopolitical discourses of political parties has so far been neglected. Five major discourses by Yabloko are identified (1993-2001), with their significance & prominence varying according to changes in the broader geopolitical context. Yabloko's position is located in the general constellation defined by the extreme poles of Westernism (Atlanticism) & Eurasianism. Yabloko represents a third way between these extreme poles & can be situated within the new category of 'pragmatic Russian geopolitics'. Yabloko presents an interesting example of a Russian opposition party whose foreign policy thinking seems capable of both changing with the broader geopolitical context & contributing to the official Russian policy. 1 Figure. Adapted from the source document.