The Modernisation Debate and Russian-German Normative Cleavages

Abstract

The key research questions of this article are: what are the political trajectories of the modernisation concept as seen from Russia and Germany, and what are the divergent contexts in which modernisation is articulated in these two major powers with a dense history of cooperative relations and huge resources to influence the future of a wider Europe? The authors apply methods of critical discourse analysis for uncovering the multiple meanings of the concept of modernisation as a key component of the Russian-German agenda. They unveil the external repercussions of Russia's modernisation agenda as intimately linked to the perspectives of this country's international socialisation, a process in which the EU in general and Germany in particular appear to be the key drivers.

Key words:

• Partnership for Modernisation
• modernity
• Russia–German relations

Notes

1 The P4M was initiated by the EU–Russia Rostov-on-Don summit (1 June 2010).

2 At the same time, Germany has developed a modernisation dialogue with Belarus, which is expected to prepare reform proposals after political changes in Belarus become possible.

3 CSCE: the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe was a diplomatic conference during the Cold War, which has been converted into an international organisation (OSCE) which takes responsibility for the post-Cold War order.