Russia's Balkan Policy in the context of identity (Vladimir Putin term)

The concept of identity in international relations emerged in the 1970s with the critique of the mainstream theories of International Relations and became involved in foreign policy-making processes in the light of the identity orientations towards societies' own positioning. The identities of the leaders, in the context of role theory in international relations, have often determined the domestic and foreign policy aspects of the states more effectively in these processes. In this sense, Russia and the Balkans went through common historical processes and influenced each other in the context of identity, and factors such as tradition, culture, language and religion were used as very important tools in Russia's Balkans policy, especially during Vladimir Putin's era. In this study, it has been examined that Russia has transformed the phases of Orthodox, Communist, Slavic and Modern identity into a policy tool on the Balkans with the recent prominence of identity politics by the states. In the research, it was observed that Russia's identity politics were applied in the framework of public and cultural diplomacy on the Balkans during Vladimir Putin's period. The factors of this policy are analyzed in the light of historical and current classifications.