Echoes of Power : A Study Unravelling the Major U.S. & U.K. Think Tanks' Perception on Russian and Ukrainian Military Prowess

Sammanfattning: This thesis aims to investigate how the major U.S. and UK think tanks perceive and convey the military prowess of Russia and Ukraine following the Russia-Ukraine war from February 2022 to October 2023. The study uses poststructuralism and discourse analysis to examine blogs and reports from the major U.S. and U.K. think tanks to identify their perceptions and attitudes. In scrutinizing their perceptions, this paper has limited itself to examining three dimensions of military prowess those being; morale and leadership, offensive capabilities, and the logistics and equipment. The relevance of recognizing how the major U.S. and UK think tanks perceive and convey the military prowess of Russia and Ukraine from a poststructuralist lens is due to the think tanks' influence in shaping domestic and foreign policymaking, as well as public debate. Something which could impact not only the trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine war, but also have national, regional, and global repercussions. The major findings of this thesis show that although the major U.S. and U.K. think tanks, which say they are non-biased actors, still prescribe and convey negative and subjective undertones and themes. Portraying for example Russia as having “incompetent” leadership and moral stature with its material advantage being its “only” cause for “success”. Whereas, for example, Ukraine's leadership and morale are praised for being the driving force for the “success” they have “enjoyed”. Whilst simultaneously being reluctant about its future, as it is described as the “only” factor for its “success”. Based on the findings, the thesis suggests future research on the issue in other domains is needed due to its relevancy in this and other fields.