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More Rigor to Emotions! A Comparative, Qualitative Content Analysis of Anger in Russian Foreign Policy

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Researching Emotions in International Relations

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in International Relations ((PSIR))

Abstract

This chapter puts forward the argument that we can only make full sense of the constitutive role of emotions in international relations by integrating them into a broader and more systematic picture. Sometimes conventional interpretative methods appear unsystematic and arbitrary and lack the possibility of generalization. This chapter advocates for the inclusion of more systematic comparative elements, a more longitudinal perspective as well as a more sensitive treatment of the ‘anger agents’. Using the example of post-Soviet Russia, the chapter outlines the design of a comparative, qualitative content analysis (QCA) of semantic anger patterns in Russian official speech since the mid-1990s. The methodology has several advantages: It provides constructivist research with a more stringent ‘theory testing’ potential and it produces more robust insight about the interplay between emotions and international policy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Some codes were developed inductively , particularly those within C4.

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Acknowledgment

This article was written in the course of the research project “Claiming respect . Tracing the socio-emotional dimension of Russia’s relations with the West” funded by the German Research Council (DFG).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), Hamburg, Germany

    Regina Heller

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  1. Regina Heller
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of International Politics, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany

    Maéva Clément

  2. FNRS / University of Namur, Namur, Belgium

    Eric Sangar

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Heller, R. (2018). More Rigor to Emotions! A Comparative, Qualitative Content Analysis of Anger in Russian Foreign Policy. In: Clément, M., Sangar, E. (eds) Researching Emotions in International Relations. Palgrave Studies in International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65575-8_4

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