Claiming respect. Tracing the socio-emotional dimension of Russia's relations with the West.

• Applicant: Dr. Regina Heller
• Subject Area: Political Science
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 236410233

The theoretical debate in International Relations (IR) is currently experiencing a renewal of interest in the issue of emotions. A large number of researchers believe that emotions and emotionality have to be given more serious attention, and integrated more systematically into theories of IR and any associated empirical analyses. In this research project, we select ideas that have been put forward by specific scholars and apply them to a most likely case, namely Russia and its foreign policy vis-à-vis the West . We stipulate that many of the Russian foreign policy inconsistencies, which observers have detected in Russian-Western relations, are in fact a result of socio-emotional factors, particularly an expression of the ruling elite s need to have Russia s international status, role and value given respect, and their own self-concept as representatives of Russia recognized. Using this approach, the project understands Russian foreign policy not primarily or exclusively as a result of rational calculation (power maximization, result of power struggles between domestic groups) or social norms, but adds another dimension to the explanation which lies outside the conventional IR paradigms. Our assumptions rest on insights drawn from social psychology, identity theory, and more recent emotion research and suggest that needs for respect and status concerns in international relations have an emotional component, as they stem from emotional judgments about the appropriate treatment by the interaction partner. We hypothesize that with regard to Russia, this socio-emotional dimension comes to the fore whenever the self-concept and status definition of the ruling elites is challenged by the interaction partners.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants