Technology in the quest for status
The Russian leadership’s artificial intelligence narrative
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12638514 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anna Nadibaidze (0000-0001-9129-1242, University of Southern Denmark, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 117-142 |
| Publication date | 2024-03-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of International Relations and Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1408-6980 • E-ISSN: 1581-1980 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41268-023-00322-1 |
| OpenAlex | W4392882538 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 78 |
The gap between Russia’s aspirations to become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential to do so has become increasingly more visible, especially following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. I examine the mismatch between the Russian leadership’s AI narrative and the country’s technological capabilities via the lens of Russia’s quest for great power status and ontological security. Connecting literatures on status-seeking, ontological security, and narratives in International Relations, I show the need to scrutinise narratives surrounding technology, especially AI technologies and their associated ambiguities, as part of how states deal with the constant uncertainty about recognition of their self-perceived identity. Based on an analysis of textual and visual documents collected via open-access sources, I find that the Russian official AI narrative embeds three of the elements forming Russia’s conception of a great power, namely the ability to compete, modernise, and attain technological sovereignty. It features a plot where the state is the main protagonist leading Russia towards AI leadership despite the obstacles it is facing. Although the official rhetoric does not match the reality of Russian capabilities, the narrative is used as a cognitive tool in the quest for identity during times of uncertainty
Development studies · International political economy · International relations · International studies · Linguistics · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies · Innovation, Sustainability, Human-Machine Systems · Law · Philosophy · Sociopolitical Dynamics in Russia
After Defeat
The Price of Prestige
Forging the World
The Psychology of Nuclear Proliferation
Status Signaling, Multiple Audiences, and China’s Blue-Water Naval Ambition
Setting Status in Stone
Narrative
The Struggle for Recognition in International Relations
Ontological Security in International Relations
Status in World Politics
Revisiting the Causes of Russian Foreign Policy Changes
The Power of Deterrence
Performing leadership
Narrative, Ontological Security, and Foreign Policy Change
Technology and Global Affairs
Remote warfare – Buzzword or Buzzkill
Ontological security, the struggle for recognition, and the maintenance of security communities
State–society complexes in ontological security-seeking in IR
Ontological security and conflict
Narrative, desire, ontological security, transgression
Critical situations, fundamental questions and ontological insecurity in world politics
Russian space policy and identity
Russia as a great power, 1815–2007
Strategic imperatives, status aspirations, or domestic interests? Explaining Russia’s nuclear weapons policy
Why Russia attacked Ukraine
Great power identity in Russia’s position on autonomous weapons systems
Modernization or More of the Same in Russia
Misrecognition, ontological security and state foreign policy
Exceptions and Rules
Populism, ontological insecurity and Hindutva
Not a heap of stones’
Brexit populism and fantasies of fulfilment
The Aesthetic Turn in International Political Theory
Pluralist Methods for Visual Global Politics
Desires, Fantasies and Hierarchies
The problem of change in constructivist theory
Populist stories of honest men and proud mothers
Ontological dissonance, clashing identities, and Israel's unilateral steps towards the Palestinians
Visual diplomacy in virtual summitry
What does it take to be a great power? The story of France joining the Big Five
Ontological Insecurities and Postcolonial Imaginaries
Russia against modernity
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Cultural heritage as status seeking
Abjection, materiality and ontological security
Ontological security, cyber technology, and states’ responses
Narrative Analysis—Or Why (and How) Sociologists Should Be Interested In Narrative
Narrative in Political Science
Halting Time
The Status of Status in World Politics
Ontological Security and Public (Mis)Recognition of International Crises
Making Sense of Stories
The War in Ukraine
Recognizing International Status
Legitimizing Putin’s Regime
Obsession with status and ressentiment
Historical aspirations and the domestic politics of Russia’s pursuit of international status
Identity, Insecurity, and Great Power Politics
Securitizing images
Ontological Security in World Politics
Russia’s relations with the West
The Visual Turn in IR
Constructing victims
(Re-)imagining the 'Self' of Ontological Security
States and ontological security
Conducting Interpretive Policy Analysis
Taking the trouble
Ontological (In)security and State Denial of Historical Crimes
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |