"LIFTING THE VEIL OF HOSTILITY": DISCOURSE ON RUSSIA BY BRITISH AND AMERICAN POLITICAL LEADERS

Lori Maguire (1)

1 TransCrit - Transferts critiques anglophones

In his first term, Clinton made assistance for Russia a major element of his administration's foreign policy. He argued that it would help bring Russia into the western camp and remove it as a security threat. There was much bipartisan support for this policy, even in Congress. But like China, after the 1994 election, Russian policy became yet another part of the partisan debate between the Republican-dominated Congress and the Democratic president. In Britain there was more consensus between the parties but this did not prevent relations from worsening. Transforming Russia into a democracy proved more difficult than hoped and Yeltsin did not live up to expectations. Putin, although showing promise after the 11 September 2001 attacks, became more hostile and threatening to both the U.S. and Britain (especially the latter)-especially after the invasion of Iraq. In both western nations we can see a return to the rhetoric of the Cold War (some might argue it had never really disappeared). Certainly, much of the rhetoric relating to Russia, whether in Britain or the U.S., presents it as a nation that must be taught how to behave properly and can seem patronising-especially to the Russians.

Mots clés: international relations; American foreign policy; British foreign policy

Domaines: Histoire

Lori Maguire. "LIFTING THE VEIL OF HOSTILITY": DISCOURSE ON RUSSIA BY BRITISH AND AMERICAN POLITICAL LEADERS. Lori Maguire. The Foreign Policy Discourse in the United Kingdom and the United States in the "New World Order", Cambridge Scholars, pp.190-220, 2009. ⟨hal-00606539⟩