The study of the Western world using the analytic frameworks developed for Sovietology and Kremlinology: treating Western institutions as systems to be decoded from the outside, attentive to
propaganda, elite networks, and the
gap between official ideology (
democracy, freedom) and actual practice (lobbying, surveillance, military intervention). Westology rejects the assumption that Western societies are inherently transparent or self‑explanatory. Instead, it reads between the lines of press releases, tracks think
tank connections, and analyzes how power operates through seemingly neutral institutions. It’s a critical lens that turns the tools of Cold War area studies back on the West itself.
Example: “Her Westology of NATO examined how
public statements about ‘defense’ masked internal negotiations over
arms sales and geopolitical
influence—Kremlinology for Brussels.”