An assessment of the explanatory utility of different approaches to account for post-Soviet Russia's foreign policy towards the West, arguing that only by focusing both on external constraints and changes in the Russian leadership's foreign policy thinking can we explain major facets of Russia's conduct from 1992-2007.
Introduction: the guns of August -- Contours of Russian foreign policy -- Bulldogs fighting under the rug: the making of Russian foreign policy -- Resetting expectations: Russia and the United States -- Europe: between integration and confrontation -- Rising China and Russia's Asian vector -- Playing with home field advantage? Russia and its post-Soviet neighbors -- Conclusion: dealing with Russia's foreign policy reawakening.
A third edition of this book is now available. Now fully updated and revised, this clear and comprehensive text explores the past thirty years of Soviet/Russian international relations, comparing foreign policy formation under Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Putin, and Medvedev. Drawing on an impressive mastery of both Russian and Western sources, Andrei P. Tsygankov shows how Moscow's policies have shifted with each leader's vision of Russia's national interests. He evaluates the successes and failures of Russia's foreign policies, explaining its many turns as Russia's identity and interaction with the West have evolved. The book concludes with reflections on the emergence of the post-Western world and the challenges it presents to Russia's enduring quest for great-power status along with its desire for a special relationship with Western nations.
This book surveys Russia's relations with the world since 1992 and assesses the future prospect for the foreign policy of Europe's largest country. Together these essays offer an authoritative summary and assessment of Russia's relations with its neighbors and with the rest of the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Through a compilation of foreign policy documents and statements, harnessed together by a section of analytic works, this book seeks to highlight the shift in Russian foreign policy at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This compilation presents the work of formative scholars in this field who are concerned with the evolution of Russia Foreign policy thinking and behavior. This volume compiles critical documents and statements (treaties, addresses and articles) that deal with the formation of new conceptions of security in the New World order. The articles critically evaluate the implications of these new initiatives and lend insight to these documents and statements in practice. They address a wide range of topics from the crisis in Kosovo to domestic Russian policy, with an eye to the future of Russian policy.
This edited volume analyses the evolution and main determinants of Russia's foreign policy choices. Containing contributions by renowned specialists on the topic, the study sheds light on some of the new trends that have characterised Russia's foreign policy since the beginning of Vladimir Putin's third presidential term.
Understanding International Relations: Russia and the World examines world politics through the lens of Russia and its effects on the international system. Contributors to this volume examine Russian politics, economics, global and regional policies, and history in order to better understand Russia’s place in world politics. This book explores the impact Russia has on international politics in three parts: how current theories in international relations studies treat Russia, the primary disputes in modern world politics relating to Russia, and Russian policies and their effects around the world. This collection offers a comprehensive view of Russia’s place in the global political system by exploring Russian foreign policy, the economy and statecraft, the Arctic, global organizations, arms control, national security, the environment, soft power, and Russian relations with the United States, Europe, and Eurasia.
As Russia's economy has grown, so have the country's global involvement and influence, which often take forms that the United States neither expects nor likes. The authors assess Russia's strategic interests and goals, examining the country's domestic policies, economic development, security goals, and worldview. They assess implications for U.S. interests and present ways that Washington could work to improve its relations with Moscow.
A look at how the desire to improve international status affects Russia's and China's foreign policies Deborah Welch Larson and Alexei Shevchenko argue that the desire for world status plays a key role in shaping the foreign policies of China and Russia. Applying social identity theory—the idea that individuals derive part of their identity from larger communities—to nations, they contend that China and Russia have used various modes of emulation, competition, and creativity to gain recognition from other countries and thus validate their respective identities. To make this argument, they analyze numerous cases, including Catherine the Great’s attempts to westernize Russia, China’s identity crises in the nineteenth century, and both countries’ responses to the end of the Cold War. The authors employ a multifaceted method of measuring status, factoring in influence and inclusion in multinational organizations, military clout, and cultural sway, among other considerations. Combined with historical precedent, this socio-psychological approach helps explain current trends in Russian and Chinese foreign policy.
A gripping account of U.S.-Russian relations since the end of the Soviet Union The Limits of Partnership offers a riveting narrative on U.S.-Russian relations since the Soviet collapse and on the challenges ahead. It reflects the unique perspective of an insider who is also recognized as a leading expert on this troubled relationship. American presidents have repeatedly attempted to forge a strong and productive partnership only to be held hostage to the deep mistrust born of the Cold War. For the United States, Russia remains a priority because of its nuclear weapons arsenal, its strategic location bordering Europe and Asia, and its ability to support—or thwart—American interests. Why has it been so difficult to move the relationship forward? What are the prospects for doing so in the future? Is the effort doomed to fail again and again? Angela Stent served as an adviser on Russia under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and maintains close ties with key policymakers in both countries. Here, she argues that the same contentious issues—terrorism, missile defense, Iran, nuclear proliferation, Afghanistan, the former Soviet space, the greater Middle East—have been in every president's inbox, Democrat and Republican alike, since the collapse of the USSR. Stent vividly describes how Clinton and Bush sought inroads with Russia and staked much on their personal ties to Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin—only to leave office with relations at a low point—and how Barack Obama managed to restore ties only to see them undermined by a Putin regime resentful of American dominance and determined to restore Russia's great power status. The Limits of Partnership calls for a fundamental reassessment of the principles and practices that drive U.S.-Russian relations, and offers a path forward to meet the urgent challenges facing both countries.