ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the conceptualisation of identity in the three main grand theories of International Relations, namely neorealism, neoliberalism and social constructivism. Russia is arguably one of the most divisive issues in European foreign policy. Divergent views often emerge when European Union member states are required to formulate a foreign policy response to a major event that sees Russia as a protagonist. The constructivist school of thought defines the politics of identity as one of the keys to understanding how a country’s domestic dynamics interact with and affect global politics. Neorealism also focuses on structures and treats states as monoliths, unproblematic units that follow the logic of self-help and power-balancing in an anarchic international environment. The neorealist approach to international relations does not attribute any role to domestic and social factors such as national identity in foreign policy making. Dominant identity discourses are the cognitive structures through which policy makers formulate national interests and take foreign policy decisions.
