Foreign policy, rhetorical action and the idea of otherness: The Czech Republic and Russia

Abstract

This article employs the concept of rhetorical action in an analysis of the recent developments in Czech-Russian political relations. Through the discourse analysis of key Russian political speeches and official documents related to the Czech Republic, as well as Czech speeches tackling the same issues, we look at two different rhetorical actions employed by Russia to induce changes in Czech policy. The attempts to make Czech policy unacceptable in the wider community of European democracies were only partially successful. While the first rhetorical action aimed against Czech NATO membership failed, the new diplomatic strategy stressing the need for a “normalization” of relations was successful in transforming Czech policy towards Russia.

The ‘take off’ of the Czech IR discipline

“…The 'take off ' of the Czech IR discipline Relations and Development (2009) 12, 205-220. doi:10.1057/jird.2009 As an outside, inevitably biased observer, I base my comments on a number of publications by Czechs in Czech and English Drula´kova´2000, 2006;Drula´k 2001Drula´k , 2002Drula´k , 2003Drula´k , 2006aDrula´k , b, 2007Drula´k and Ko¨nigova´2002;Kratochvı´l et al, 2006;Barsˇa 2007;Kratochvı´l 2007). I have very little to add.…”

Symbolic and social boundaries of the integration of Russian immigrants in Czechia

“…During socialism, Czechs and Russians were connected by a lot of common things, for instance, economic and cultural relations (Sládek 2010). Eventually, previous open and fruitful mutual everyday interaction and collaboration have changed into pragmatic economic cooperation (Kratochvíl et al 2006), and subsequently, it has moved towards the negative influence of Soviet power. The subordination and the increasing dependence on the Soviet Union led to the gradual destruction and backwardness of the Czechoslovak economy, which once was one of the most advanced in post-war Europe.…”

The Discursive Resistance to EU-Enticement: The Russian Elite and (the Lack of) Europeanisation

“…The growing importance of language in social sciences is connected to the idea of the leading French structuralist Ferdinand de Saussure that words gain their meaning in 3 For notable exceptions however, see an older piece by Neumann (1993), a newer analysis on the Russian side by Bordachev and Moshes (2004), and that by Kratochvı´l et al (2006), and an excellent study by Peter (2006). 4 For an exception however, see Prozorov (2006).…”