Image of Russia in Norway and vice versa: cross-pollination

Abstract

The present thesis project examines the concept of country image, namely the country image of Russia in Norway and vice versa. Modern world society is inclined to globalization and undistorted usage of information. In such conditions, majority have a common vision of the country image concept, but the structure of country image itself is unsystematized and occasionally undisclosed. Such a versatile aspect of modern international politics needs to be analyzed narrowly inasmuch as it plays prominent role in understanding ourselves in the modern multicultural society. This project is based on the empirical study of country image which has been undertaken in Murmansk, St. Petersburg, Tromsø and Oslo. The main objective of the present paper is to provide multilateral analysis of genuine country image of Russia and Norway. All data have been collected with the help of detailed anonymous questionnaire and unstructured expert interview. Results of questionnaire are analyzed with the help of SPSS Statistics software. Russian-Norwegian international relations are to be bright example of productive cooperation between states on both local and national levels over the years. The territory of high north, long history of interconnections between Russians and Norwegians, common border and absence of any armed conflict between states – all of this dictate specific perception and understanding of each other’s culture, history, and mentality. Such peculiarities and results of country image analysis allowed to disclose that both Norwegians and Russians pay same attention to the same components of each other’s country image – understanding and perceiving of nations have cross-fertilized one another: image of Russia in Norway and vice versa is cross – pollinated.