RUSSIAN STRATEGIC REPRESENTATIONS OF NATO AND THE EURO-ATLANTIC COMMUNITY
RUSSIAN STRATEGIC REPRESENTATIONS OF NATO AND THE EURO-ATLANTIC COMMUNITY

Summary/Abstract: This article examines how the Russian Federation has progressively redefined its strategic positioning toward NATO and the Euro-Atlantic community across four key periods: 1999-2000, 2008, 2014, and 2022. The aim is to identify patterns in how official strategic documents portray NATO and the Euro-Atlantic community, with a focus on threat perception, security discourse, and the legitimacy of force. The methodology consists of qualitative content analysis of national security strategies, foreign policy concepts, and military doctrines issued in each period, using a chronological approach. Findings indicate a shift from a predominantly defensive posture to an increasingly assertive and confrontational stance. In the early 2000s, NATO is depicted as a potential challenge, but cooperation remains possible. By 2008 and especially after the war in Georgia, the tone becomes more critical, portraying NATO as a destabilizing actor. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 consolidate this trend: Western actors are now described as direct adversaries, and the use of force is legitimized by references to existential threats. The study highlights how Russia has embedded strategic and ideological elements into its official doctrine, reinforcing a discourse of defensive sovereignty while enabling offensive operations.

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