Security Threats and Public Perception: Digital Russia and the Ukraine Crisis

Countless attempts at analyzing Russia’s actions focus on Putin to understand Russia’s military imbroglio in Ukraine, hostility towards America, and disdain of ‘Gayropa’. This book invites its readers to look beyond the man and delve into the online lives of millions of Russians. It asks not the question of what the threats are to Russia’s security, but what they are perceived to be by digital Russia.

The author examines how enemy images are manufactured, threats magnified, stereotypes revived, memories implanted and fears harnessed. It looks at the legacy of the Soviet Union in shaping discussions ranging from the Ukraine crisis to the Pussy Riots trial, and explores the complex inter-relation between enemy images at the governmental level and their articulation by the general public. By drawing on the fields of international relations, memory studies, visual studies, and big data, this book addresses the question of why securitization succeeds – and why it fails.

"Security theory meets the visual turn and goes to Russia, where old tsarist and Soviet tropes are flooding the internet in support of Putin's neo-tsarism. A magical mystery tour that comes recommended.

Iver B. Neumann, author of "Russia and the Idea of Europe"

“The novelty of her approach is in going beyond the traditional top down perspective and capturing the receptivity and contribution of various social groups to securitized discourses.”

Andrei P.Tsygankov, author of "Russia's Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity in National Identity".

“When do scary proclamations of security threats attract an audience? When does securitization work? ‘Security Threats and Public Perception’ combines in-depth analysis of the Ukraine Crisis in the Russian digital media with discourse theory to make an innovative argument about how and when people believe that they are insecure. A must read!”

Laura Sjoberg, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Florida, USA