Venezuela Foreign Policy Changes at the turn of the 20th and 21st century

This thesis deals with the Venezuela Foreign Policy Changes between the years 1999 -- 2012. The work provides the analyses of the political system of today's Venezuela and the Venezuelan foreign policy under the Hugo Chávez rule. As the thesis aims at studying the relationship between the domestic and foreign policy both aspects needed to be considered. Author tests the hypothesis that the foreign rhetoric and policy of Venezuela between the years 1999 -- 2012 were primarily focused on legitimizing Hugo Chavez's domestic position. Hugo Chavez's speeches in front of the National Assembly in the years 2000-2012 were analyzed using the text analysis tools. Quantification of the speeches key words was one of the instruments to test the above stated main hypothesis of the thesis. Chavez's foreign rhetoric and policy helped to fortify its power position especially with army and masses sensitive to populist approach even though the consequences for the Venezuelan economy were rather bad or unsustainable. Furthermore we can state that the foreign rhetoric and policy of the years 1999-2012 developed and radicalized in relation to the domestic economic and political situation