The Foreign Policy of Russia ― Changing Systems, Enduring Interests

Now fully updated, this widely respected text traces the lineage and development of Russian foreign policy with the insight that comes from historical perspective. Chronologically organized chapters highlight the continuities of Russia's behavior in the world since tsarist times as well as the major sources of change and variability over the revolutionary period, wartime alliances and cold war, detente, the Soviet collapse, and the first post-communist decades. The fifth edition incorporates new and fully updated coverage of issues including relations with the major powers and with other post-communist states, international security issues including arms control issues and grounds for sanctions and intervention, and domestic and regional issues related to natural resource politics, human rights, Islamism and terrorism. New coauthor Vidya Nadkarni strengthens the book's coverage of issues related to Asia. The basic framework used in the book is a modified realism that stresses the balance of power and the importance of national interest, and identifies several factors (both internal and external) that condition Russian policy. The interpretations are original and based on a mix of primary and secondary sources.