CONSTRUCTION OF СATEGORIES ‘STRENGTH’ AND ‘WEAKNESS’ IN RUSSIAN AND POLISH FOREIGN POLICY DISCOURSE

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The study is part of the project aimed at revealing the mechanisms of discursive construction of international relations (IR). It examines the functions of the categories ‘strength’ and ‘weakness’ in discursive representations of states as political actors. The research draws on assumptions of social constructionism and CDA. The data include recent speeches by Russian and Polish Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The paper argues that the opposition ‘strength vs. weakness’ is essential in the construction of IR in discourse. We focus on how nation states and their qualities are represented in foreign policy discourse, and which of these qualities conceptualise the categories of strength and weakness. We demonstrate that the two categories constitute a relational pair; however, the category of strength is expressed more explicitly than that of ‘weakness’, and the axiological charge of ‘strength’ changes depending on the actor that it represents. An array of linguistic tools is employed in constructing the opposition, and, consequentially, the IR between the political actors. The paper suggests that social actors and their qualities can be viewed as social categories that are perpetually constructed and re-constructed in discourse. The research develops the theory of discourse and demonstrates how discourse analysis contributes to the study of social practices and helps interpret current social phenomena.

About the authors

TATIANA VIKTOROVNA DUBROVSKAYA

Penza State University

Author for correspondence.
Email: gynergy74@gmail.com

Dr. Hab., Head of the English Language Department at Penza State University (Russia). Research interests: critical discourse analysis of political and mass media practices, legal linguistics, linguistic pragmatics, speech genres, discursive construction of international relations

40 Krasnaya St., Penza, 440026, Russian Federation

AGNIESZKA SOWIŃSKA

Universidad Católica del Norte, Facultad de Humanidades; Nicolaus Copernicus University

Email: sowinska@umk.pl

PhD, Associate Professor at the Department of English, Nicolaus Copernicus University (Toruń, Poland) and at Académico, Escuela de Inglés, Universidad Católica del Norte (Antofagasta, Chile). Research interests: critical discourse analysis of political and mass media practices, linguistic pragmatics, communication in healthcare

1 W. Bojarskiego St., 87-100, Torun, Poland

References

  1. Александров-Деркаченко П., Ауров О. Польская боль / Русская боль // Свободная мысль. 2012. № 11—12 (1635). С. 195—204. [Aleksandrov-Derkachenko, P., Aurov, O. (2012). Polish pain / Russian pain. Svobodnaya Mysl’, 11—12 (1635), 195—204. (In Russ.)]
  2. Алиева Т.В. Имплицитные языковые средства, участвующие в формировании концептуальной оппозиции «свой — чужой» в политическом дискурсе англоязычной прессы // Вестник Московского государственного областного университета. Серия Лингвистика. 2010. № 1. С. 86—89. [Aliyeva, T. (2010). Implicit language means forming the conceptual opposition ‘us vs. them’ in the political discourse. Vestnik Moskovskogo Gosudarstvennogo Oblastnogo Uni­versiteta. Seria: Lingvistika, 1, 86—89. (In Russ.)]
  3. Анипкин М., Григорьев М. Межэтническая напряженность в отношениях россиян и поляков: польский аспект проблемы // Вестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 7: Философия. Социология и социальные технологии. № 2. С. 57—65. [Anipkin, M., Grigoryev, A. (2014). Interethnic tensions between the Russian and Polish people: the Polish view. Vestnik Volgogradskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Serija 7: Filosofia. Sotsiologia i Sotsialnyje Tekhnologii, 2, 57—65. (In Russ.)]
  4. Белые Пятна — Черные Пятна: сложные вопросы в российско-польских отношениях /под ред. Торкунова А.В., Ротфельда А., Наринского М.М. Москва: Аспект Пресс, 2010. 823 с. [Blind Spots — Black Spots: Difficult Issues in Russian-Polish Relations. (2010). Torkunov, A.V., Rotfeld, A., Narinsky, M.M. (eds.) Moscow: Aspekt Press. 823 p. (In Russ.)]
  5. Бирюков С. Образ современной России: западные стереотипы и российские реальности // Перспективы. Специальный выпуск. 2015. С. 19—33. [Biryukov, S. (2015). Image of modern Russia: Western stereotypes and Russian reality. Perspektivy Specialnyj Vypusk, 19—33. (In Russ.)]
  6. Волкова Я.А., Панченко Н.Н. Деструктивность в политическом дискурсе // Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Лингвистика. 2016. Том 20. № 4. С. 161—178. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22363/2312-9182-2016-20-4-160-178 [Volkova, Y.F., Panchenko, N.N. (2016). Destructiveness in political discourse. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 20 (4), 161—178. (In Russ.)]
  7. Воркачев С.Г. Инициатива и послушание: к аксиологической вариативности лингвоконцепта // Политическая лингвистика. 2012. № 1. С. 173—180. [Vorkachjov, S.G. (2012). Initiative and obedience: axiological variability of concept in language. Politicheskaja Lingvistika, 1, 173—180. (In Russ.)]
  8. Вражнова И.Г., Дубровская О.Н., Ермакова Е.В., Харламова Т.В. Современный политический дискурс и СМИ: Власть и общество. Саратов: Наука, 2009. [Vrazhnova, I.G., Dubrov­skaya, O.N., Ermakova, E.V., & Kharlamova T.V. (2009). Modern Political Discourse and the Media: Power and Society. Saratov: Nauka. (In Russ.)]
  9. Гаврилов И.А., Гаврилов А.А., Щербинин А.И. Присоединение украинского Крыма Россией как причина апории со странами Запада // Вестник Томского государственного уни­верситета. Философия. Социология. Политология. № 3(31). С. 91—96. [Gavrilov, I.A., Gavrilov, A.A., Scherbinin, А.I. (2015). The annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea by Russia as a reason for aporia with Western countries. Vestnik Tomskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Filosofia. Sotsiologia. Politologia, 3(31), 91—96. (In Russ.)]
  10. Карасик В.И. Языковой Круг: Личность, Концепты, Дискурс. Волгоград: Перемена, 2002. [Karasik, V.I. (2002). Language Circle: Identity, Concepts, Discourse. Volgograd: Peremena. (In Russ.)]
  11. Кишина Е. В. Семантическая оппозиция «свой — чужой» как реализация идеолого-манипуля­тивного потенциала политических дискурсов // Вестник Кемеровского государственного университета. 2011. № 4(48). С. 174—179. [Kishina, E.V. (2011). The semantic opposition ‘us vs. them’ as the realization of ideological manipulative potential of political discourses. Vestnik Kemerovskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta, 4 (48), 174—179. (In Russ.)]
  12. Озюменко В.И. Медийный дискурс в ситуации информационной войны: от манипуляции — к агрессии // Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Лингвистика. 2017. Том 21. № 1. С. 203—220. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22363/2312-9182-2017-21-1-203-220 [Ozyumenko, V.I. (2017). Media discourse in an atmosphere of information warfare: from manipulation to aggression. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 21, 1, 203—220. (In Russ.)]
  13. Офицеров-Бельский Д.В. Трансформация образа России в современной польской периодике // Вестник Пермского университета. Российская и зарубежная филология. 2014. № 4(28). С. 214—219. [Ofitserov-Belskij, D.V. (2014). Trasformation of the image of Russia in the modern Polish periodicals. Vestnik Permskogo Universiteta. Rossijskaja i Zarubezhnaja Filologija, 4(28), 214—219. (In Russ.)]
  14. Петрова Я.С. Российско-польские отношения в 90-е годы XX века // Вестник Ленинградского государственного университета им. А.С. Пушкина. 2015. № 4(2). С. 149—157. [Petrova, J.S. (2015). Russian-Polish relations in the 1990s. Vestnik Leningradskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta im. A.S. Pushkina. 4 (2), 149—157. (In Russ.)]
  15. Савельева А.А. Фразеологизмы семантической оппозиции «сила» vs. «слабость» в современном русском языке // Известия высших учебных заведений. Проблемы полиграфии и издатель­ского дела. 2011. № 1. С. 132—139. [Savelyeva, A. A. (2011). Phraseology of the semantic opposition ‘strength’ vs. ‘weakness’ in modern Russian language. Izvestija Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenij. Problemy Poligrafii i Izdatelskogo Dela, 1, 132—139. (In Russ.)]
  16. Сикевич З. Национальное самосознание русских (социологический очерк). Москва: Механик, 1996. [Sikevich, Z. (1996). National Mentality of the Russians (Sociological Review). Moscow: Mekhanik. (In Russ.)]
  17. Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London, N.Y.: Verso.
  18. Barbato, M. (2016). What kind of person is the state? The pilgrim as a processual metaphor beyond the Leviathan. Journal of International Relations and Development, 19 (4), 558—582.
  19. Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality. London: Penguin Books.
  20. Bloor, M., & and Bloor, T. (2007). The Practice of Critical Discourse Analysis. An Introduction. London: Hodder Arnold.
  21. Cashdan, E., & Downes, S.M.. (2012). Evolutionary perspectives on human aggression. Human Nature, 23 (1), 1—4.
  22. Catalano, T., & and Waugh, L.R. (2013). The ideologies behind newspaper crime reports of Latinos and Wall Street/CEOs: A critical analysis of metonymy in text and image. Critical Discourse Studies, 10 (4), 406—426.
  23. Chilton, P. (2004). Analysing Political Discourse. Theory and Practice. London and N.Y.: Routledge.
  24. Cillia, R. de, Reisigl, M., & and Wodak, R. (1999). The discursive construction of national identities. Discourse and Society, 12 (2), 149—173.
  25. Cruse, A. (2004). Meaning in Language. An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  26. Davies, M. (2008). Oppositions in News Discourse: the Ideological Construction of Us and Them in the British Press. Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield.
  27. Dubrovskaya, T., & Kozhemyakin, E. (2017). Media construction of Russia’s international relations: specific of representations. Critical Discourse Studies, 14 (1), 90—107. doi: 10.1080/17405904.2016.1196228.
  28. Epstein, C. (2011). Who speaks? Discourse, the subject and the study of identity in international politics. European Journal of International Relations, 17(2), 327—350. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1354066109350055.
  29. Fairclough, N. (2004). Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. London, N.Y.: Routledge.
  30. Gerrits, A. (ed.) (2008). The European Union and Russia and Interest in the Shaping of Relations. The Hague: Institute of International Relations Clingendael.
  31. Holzscheiter, A. (2013). Between communicative interaction and structures of signification: Discourse theory and analysis in international relations. International Studies Perspectives 15(2). 142—162.
  32. Husar, J. (2016). Framing Foreign Policy in India, Brazil and South Africa: on the like-mindedness of the IBSA states. Cham: Springer.
  33. Hynek, N., & Stritecky V. (2010). The rise and fall of the third site of ballistic missile defense. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 43, 179—187.
  34. Kazharski, A. (2013). Eurasian regionalism as an identitary enterprise: representations of European other in Russian discourse on Eurasian integration. CEURUS EU-Russia Papers, 12, 1—28.
  35. Koschut, S., & Oelsner, A. (eds.) 2014. Friendship and International Relations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  36. Lauerbach, G.E., & Fetzer A. (2007). Political discourse in the media: cross-cultural perspectives. In Fetzer, A. & and G.E. Lauerbach (eds.) Political Discourse in the Media. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 3—28.
  37. López Maestre, M.D. (2007). Investigating language and ideology in discourse on immigration: A corpus-based critical approach. In Lottgen, U.D.S., & J.S. Sánchez (eds.) Discourse and International Relations. Bern: Peter Lang, 141—180.
  38. Malmvig, H. (2006). State sovereignty and intervention: a discourse analysis of interventionary and noninterventionary practices in Kosovo and Algeria. London: Routledge.
  39. Medvedev, S. (2008). Limits of integration: Identities and institutions in EU-Russia relations. Helsinki: Aleksanteri Institute.
  40. Murphy, M.L. (2006). Antonymy and incompatibility. In Brown, K. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 314—317.
  41. Reisigl, M., & Wodak, R. (2001). Discourse and Discrimination. Rhetorics of Racism and Anti-Semitism. London: Routledge.
  42. Sowińska, A. (2015). A Critical Search for Values in George W. Bush’s State of the Union Addresses. Frankfurt am Mein: Peter Lang.
  43. Sowińska, A., & Dubrovskaya, T. (2012a). Discursive construction and transformation of ‘us’ and ‘them’ categories in the newspaper coverage on the US anti-ballistic missile system: Polish versus Russian View. Discourse & Communication, 6 (4), 449—468.
  44. Sowińska, A., & Dubrovskaya, T. (2012b). Discursive strategies in the media construction of Poland, Russia and the USA in the context of the debate on the US anti-ballistic missile defense shield in Polish and Russian quality papers. In Skrzypczak, W., Fojt T., & and S. Wacewicz (eds.) Exploring Language through Contrast. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 268—287.
  45. Van Dijk, T.A. (2006). Politics, ideology, and discourse. In Brown, K. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 728—740.
  46. Van Leeuwen, T. (2003). The Representation of Social Actors. In Caldas-Coulthard C.R., & M. Coulthard (eds.), Texts and Practices: Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis, 32—70. London: Routledge.
  47. Wendt, A. (1999). Social Theory of International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  48. Lavrov 21.01.2014 — Speech by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his answers to questions from the mass media during the press conference summarising the results of the activities of Russian diplomacy, Moscow. Available from: http://en.mid.ru/en/web/guest/foreign_ policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/79890 [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  49. Lavrov 13.02.2014 — Article by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, “Russia-EU: Time to Decide” published in the Kommersant newspaper. Available from: http://en.mid.ru/en/web/ guest/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/76622 [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  50. Lavrov 03.03.2014 — Speech by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, during the high-level segment of the 25th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva. Available from: http://en.mid.ru/en/web/guest/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/ content/id/72642 [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  51. Lavrov 23.05.2014 — Speech by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the III Moscow International Security Conference, Moscow. Available from: http://en.mid.ru/en/web/guest/ foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/59058 [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  52. Lavrov 04.06.2014 — Speech by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, at the meeting with members of the Russian International Affairs Council, Moscow. Available from: http://en.mid.ru/ en/web/guest/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/57150 [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  53. Lavrov 14.06.2014 — Interview by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, given to the programme “Postscriptum”, Moscow. Available from: http://www.mid.ru/en/vistupleniya_ ministra/-/asset_publisher/MCZ7HQuMdqBY/content/id/56142 [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  54. Sikorski 08.05.2014 — Address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the goals of Polish foreign policy in 2014. Available from: http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/news/address_by_the_minister_of_foreign_ affairs_on_the_goals_of_polish_foreign_policy_in_2014 [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  55. Sikorski 22.09.2014 — Farewell Address by Minister Sikorski. Available from: http://www.msz.gov.pl/ en/p/msz_en/ministry/polish_diplomacy_archive/former_ministers/remarks_by_radoslaw_sikorski/ farewell_address_by_minister_r__sikorski;jsessionid=DCD3102767D0ACAFBC2710ABC9FA5 B50.cmsap5p [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  56. Sikorski 23.09.2014 — “We are on the right track” — Minister Radosław Sikorski about his seven years as chief of Poland’s diplomacy Available from: http://www.mfa.gov.pl/en/news/0_we_ are_on_the_right_track____minister_radoslaw_sikorski_about_his_seven_years_as_chief_of_ poland_s_diplomacy [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  57. Schetyna 06.11.2014 — Report by the Council of Ministers on the goals of Polish foreign policy in 2014—2015. Available from: http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/news/minister_grzegorz_schetyna_ on_polish_foreign_policy_priorities [Accessed: 1st June 2017].
  58. Schetyna 10.12.2014 — Address by Minister Schetyna at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, “NATO in the New Security Environment: Newport, Warsaw and Beyond.” Available from: http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/ministry/polish_diplomacy_archive/former_ministers/remarks_mgs/ address_by_minister_at_the_polish_institute_of_international_affairs;jsessionid=24E9E0891 64F28DF595E725FA63D09BC.cmsap5p [Accessed: 1st June 2017].

Copyright (c) 2018 DUBROVSKAYA T.V., SOWIŃSKA A.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies