Parody as norm contestation: Russian normative justifications in Georgia and Ukraine and their implications for global norms

Abstract

Western observers often perceive Russian normative justifications in Georgia and Ukraine as a parody of Western normative discourse. This article argues that describing the relationship of Russian normative arguments to the Western originals as parody not only means that it is a contemptible copy which fails to cover strategic motivations, but also indicates a more complex interaction between the two in altering how the scope and content of civilian protection and secession are understood. Two factors prompt an analysis of this interaction. First, Russian normative discourse systematically references the Western one; second, it does so in relation to norms where the relevant standards of behaviour are profoundly contested. The article asks how the Russian recycling of Western normative language alters interpretive dispositions towards these norms, and conceptualises parody as a heuristic device to shed light on its potential normative impact. It argues that the core of the parodic effect is to disclose the original normative discourse as just one possible “reality-making script”. Reconstructing the Russian replications of Western normative argumentation deployed in Kosovo, the article argues that parodic appropriation of normative language has a destabilising impact, and thus plays a role in the contested evolution of global norms.