Strategies of Positive Representation of Russian-Italian Relations in Russian Foreign Policy Discourse (based on the Russian Foreign Ministry Website)

Abstract

The paper focuses on discursive construction of international relations in foreign policy discourse. The author uses the data retrieved from the Russian Foreign Ministry website to define the strategies of positive representation of Russian-Italian relations and reveal linguistic resources employed for the purpose. The strategies include the following: strategy of positive evaluation, strategy of legitimizing the partnering actor’s negative characteristics, strategy of positive forecast, strategy of involvement, strategy of demonstrating similarity of problems or views, strategy of indicating the legitimacy of relations and activities, and strategy of positive emotionalisation. The author demonstrates that strategies that represent a partnering actor are actualised in different genres of foreign policy discourse, which assists in constructing a consistent picture of Russian-Italian relations. The author claims that numerous strategies of positive representation are a convincing proof that foreign policy practices demand not only strategies that perform a conflictual function. Strategies that are aimed at harmonizing relations, constructing partnerships and grouping political actors are also in demand in international relations.