Dejavu ‒ Enemy Images in NATO-Russian Relations

Abstract

We very often talk about enemies and enemy images but in many cases it does not exceed caricatures or photos of political leaders which embody all imaginable negative characteristics related to repressive or antidemocratic systems, tyrants, or even terrorists. Enemy images however are not simply visualizations of negatively judged people, they are determined by the thoughts of the public, the history of a nation or by the influence of powerful actors. These images can influence behavior of individuals or whole countries as well. This is what we can observe in the development of NATO-Russian relations. Some NATO countries cannot forget the years of Russian occupation or the fear from a Russian aggression. The Ukrainian events did only multiply the perceived threat of these countries’. The enemy image of the Russian Federation has not been demolished but it is stronger than ever.