The Representations of Russia in Expertise: a Comparative Analysis of the Narratives Regarding Russia’s Accountability on the International Stage

This paper focuses on how Russia is represented in the most prominent advocacy coalitions. The focal point of this research is to outline the narratives of those advocacy coalitions regarding Russia’s accountability following its actions in Ukraine and Syria. Doing so, the first part of this paper provides an overview of the literature regarding Russia’s representations in expertise, it also provides an overview of the relevant theories. The second part of this paper provides a comparative analysis of the narratives displayed in the reports published in regard to the Russian’s intervention in Ukraine and Syria. Methodology: the data collection is based on the reports published in 2016-2017 by two think tanks considered as the most influential think tanks in 2017: Brookings and IFRI (Mcgann 2018). The analysis is divided in two approaches; the first approach is deductive and is based on the ‘narrative policy framework analysis’ by Shanhan, Jones and Mc Beth (2017) and more particularly on the concept of causal effect by Stone (2012). The second approach is inductive and analyses the different policies and recommendations advocated by both think tanks. Both approaches are complementary and allow for an extensive comparison of how Russia’s actions on the international stage may be divergently depicted by prominent advocacy coalitions.