THE ‘GARDENING STATE’ IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: PUTIN’S RUSSIA AND ITS NEAR ABROAD POLICY
Journal: Nişantaşı üniversitesi sosyal bilimler dergisi/Nişantaşı Üniversitesi sosyal bilimler dergisi
Year: 2025

This study adapts Zygmunt Bauman’s metaphors of the gardening state and garden culture to the analysis of international relations and foreign policy, examining Russia’s Near Abroad policy during the Putin era in the post-Soviet space. Bauman’s metaphor provides a powerful framework for understanding states’ tendencies to establish a desired order within their “gardens” by controlling, preventing, and if necessary, violently eliminating “weeds,” i.e., exclusionary and perceived threats. The study