Abstract
The ways in which the notion of human rights is interpreted in Russian foreign policy discourse are investigated. It is shown that the discourse is dominated by romantic realism — a methodological position which it is claimed reveals the `real' motives for political action but that develops an explicitly idealistic framework for analysis. Romantic realism regards human rights as an instrument used by the West to hinder the internal consolidation of other societies and to promote Westernization, thus assimilating the diversity of cultures in the world and bringing about entropy. The threat of entropy may also be interpreted as a threat to the identity of Russian society, and the conclusion is that securitization practised by romantic realists is fairly successful. It is reversible, but does have irreversible consequences, and desecuritization can therefore be achieved only by conscious and intelligent effort.
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