Very Nefarious Activities : American perceptions of Russia as a problem between 2001and 2021.

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to examine American perceptions of Russia as a problem between 2001and 2021, specifically the perceptions present in the United States Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee (SFRC). It tries to answer two questions: 1) how the perceptions have developed, and theperceived reasons driving this development, and 2) the differences between Republican andDemocratic senators. This is done with a qualitative content analysis of the seven hearings for UnitedStates Secretary of State held between 2001, in the beginning of George W. Bush’s presidency, to2021, the beginning of Joe Biden’s presidency. The study makes use of actor-specific theory andKaplowitz’ theory on the perception of enemies as its theoretical framework. The result of the study isthat the perception has developed from a cautious view of a Russia that is unstable, but not hostile, toone of Russia as actively hostile and problematic. The question of party differences indicates thatthere are few differences between the two parties other than their view on Donald Trump and hisconnections to Russia, although this finding is not as conclusive.