Construction of the Image of Russia in the Expert-Analytical Discourse of Germany

Perception of a state in international relations is rarely neutral. It is a product of purposeful meaning-making, and this article identifies the substantive characteristics of Russia’s image shaped by key German expert analytical institutions and examines their role in justifying and legitimizing current German policies. The methodological basis of this study is constructivism and the Copenhagen School’s theory of securitization. This allows us to consider think tanks as active actors who shape interpretative frameworks for political decisions. Particular attention is paid to the institutional structure of the German expert community, including party foundations and independent analytical centers that are actively involved in shaping the foreign policy agenda. The primary research method is discourse analysis, supplemented by content analysis to track the frequency of key semantic units. The empirical basis comprises public reports and analytical papers from leading German analytical centers and political foundations. The author concludes that Russia’s image is purposefully constructed as an existential and revisionist threat to European security, driven by imperial ambitions. This legitimizes the FRG’s course toward militarization and confrontation. This image is characterized by a high degree of securitization, which significantly narrows the space for dialogue and the development of non-confrontational relations. The article’s significance lies in the necessity of considering the output of Germany’s analytical centers when formulating Russia’s foreign policy toward Germany and forecasting potential German actions that may threaten Russia’s national interests.

1. Balayan A.A., Sungurov A.Yu. Think Tanks: International and Russian Experience. SaintPetersburg: Natsional’nyy issledovatel’skiy universitet “Vysshaya shkola ekonomiki” [National Research University Higher School of Economics], 2014. 236 p. [In Russian].

2. Belobrov Y.Y. NATO: Strategic Foresight and Planning for Future Military Operations. Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn’ [International Life]. 2025; 6:96–103 [In Russian].

3. Belov V.B. The First Government Statement of Friedrich Merz: Self-Legitimation and Mobilization. Analiticheskie zapiski Instituta Evropy RAN [Analytical Papers of the Institute of Europe RAS]. 2025; 2-17(385):53–60 [In Russian].

4. Belozerov V.K. Germany Constructs a Strategic Culture: Reflections After the Release of the FRG’s National Security Strategy. Rossiya v global’noy politike [Russia in Global Affairs]. 2023; 5(123) [In Russian]. Available at: https://globalaffairs.ru/articles/strat-kultura-germanii/.

5. Belozerov V.K. Intelligence Failures and the Lack of Scientific Analysis. Rossiya v global’noy politike [Russia in Global Affairs]. 2021; 2:218–223 [In Russian].

6. Military Intelligence. Ed. by P.Robinson, R.N.Pukhov. Moscow: Tsentr analiza strategiy i tekhnologiy [Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies], 2021. 376 p. [In Russian].

7. Danilova E.A., Zinovieva A.A. Constructing the Political Image of Russia in American Media. Sotsial’no-politicheskie issledovaniya [Social and Political Researchers]. 2023; 3(20):34–46 [In Russian].

8. Dickson P. Think Tanks. Transl. from English under the gen. ed. of V.I.Sedov. Moscow: Progress [Progress], 1976. 451 p. [In Russian].

9. Zhaibalieva L.T., Danshina A.P. The German Factor in the October Revolution of 1917. Shag v nauku [Step into Science]. 2019; 2:157–159. [In Russian].

10. Ivkina N.V. The Problem of the Russian Federation Image Formation by German Think Tanks in the Context of the Syrian Crisis (Case of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung). Vestnik Rossiyskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Seriya: Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Vestnik RUDN. International Relations]. 2018; 18(1):96–106 [In Russian].

11. Kuzmin A.I., Ponomarev A.I., Polevoy V.G., Duganov V.A. A Scientifically Grounded View on the Feasibility of Reflecting Issues of Civilian Protection During Military Conflicts in the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation. Tekhnologii grazhdanskoy bezopasnosti [Civil Security Technology]. 2022; 19:8–14 [In Russian].

12. Linkova E.V. On the Formation of Russia’s Image in Western Europe. Vestnik Rossiyskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Seriya: Vseobshchaya istoriya [Vestnik RUDN. World History]. 2014; 1:51–59 [In Russian].

13. Melnikova O.A. Information Support of Foreign Policy. Vestnik MGIMO [MGIMO Review of International Relations]. 2015; 2(41):93–100 [In Russian].

14. Pavlov N., Sokolov A. Germany’s Security Policy: From the “Unipolar Moment” to the “Turn of an Era”. Mirovaya ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [World Economy and International Relations]. 2026; 70(3):65–74 [In Russian].

15. Parsons T. The Social System. Ed. by V.F.Chesnokova and S.A.Blanovsky. Moscow: Akademicheskiy Proekt [Academic Project], 2002. 832 p. [In Russian]

16. Pogorelskaya S.V. The Activities of German Political Foundations in the EU Mediterranean Countries During the Eurozone Crisis (The Case of Greece). Aktual’nye problemy Evropy [Current Problems of Europe]. 2014; 2:61–75 [In Russian].

17. Rukavitsyn P.M. Is the Alternative for Germany a Credible Threat from the Right? Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo lingvisticheskogo universiteta. Obshchestvennye nauki [Vestnik of Moscow State Linguistic University. Social Sciences]. 2019; 3(836):102–111 [In Russian].

18. “ Belozerov V.K., Mironov D.V., Myrikova A.V., Shirinyants A.A. “Russians Are Our Natural Enemies”: German Russophobic Discourse of XIX – Early XX Centuries. Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo lingvisticheskogo universiteta. Obshchestvennye nauki [Vestnik of Moscow State Linguistic University. Social Sciences]. 2023; 2(851):56–63 [In Russian].

19. Sinitsyn F.L. The Process of Forming the Nazi Policy Dealing with East Slavic and Baltic Nations (1922–1941). Informatsionnaya bezopasnost regionov [Information Security of Regions]. 2014; 1(14):105–110. [In Russian].

20. Sokolov A.P. Russia in German Strategic Documents: “A Turning Point of Eras”. IMEMO RAN [IMEMO RAS]. 2024; 10:70–79 [In Russian].

21. Trunov F.O. Features of German-Lithuanian Cooperation in the Late 2010s – Early 2020s: Military and Political Aspects. Baltiyskiy region [Baltic Region]. 2024; 16(1):61–80 [In Russian].

22. Schmitt. The Concept of the Political. Transl. from German. St. Petersburg: Nauka [Science], 2016. 567 p. [In Russian]

23. Barbashin A., Graef A. Thinking Foreign Policy in Russia: Think Tanks and Grand Narratives. Washington: Atlantic Council, 2019. 24 p. [In English].

24. Buzan B., Wæver O., Wild J. A New Framework for Analysis. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998. 239 p. [In English].

25. Krone-Schmalz G. Eiszeit. Wie Russland dämonisiert wird und warum das so gefährlich ist. München: C.H.BECK, 2017. 368 s. [In German].

26. Hofbauer H. Feindbild Russland. Geschichte einer nationalen Obsession. Wien: Promedia, 2016. 256 s. [In German].