Description
Russia’s interventions in Syria are intrinsically linked to its broader grand strategy and global foreign policy. This paper seeks to understand Russia's intervention in Syria through a role theory analysis of its hybrid warfare strategies there and how they relate to Russia’s historical socialisation, which has given rise to a self-identifying discourse of messianism within a context of developing global multipolarity. The Syrian conflict was the first war in which Russia intervened outside the former Soviet Union since the USSR’s collapse. Alongside Moscow's annexation of Crimea, Russia's military intervention in Syria has ushered in an era of Russian foreign policy assertiveness unprecedented since the Cold War, signalling Russia's shifting role in global politics. Russian official foreign policy discourse, enshrined in Russia's Foreign Policy Concepts, emphasises Russia's protective role of statism globally, the global benefits of multipolarity promoted by Russia, and the dangers of interventions under the pretence of humanitarianism. These principles guide an alternative normative framework Moscow seeks to promote through its foreign policy, such as its interventions in Syria, the key tenets being: non-intervention in the internal affairs of states (unless invited); democracy between states; and the sanctity of state sovereignty, especially in the face of the increasing importance of the rights of the individual in international law. This has not been without friction and the reception of Russian activities globally, and in Syria, has been a major factor in its emerging role.
