Russian Foreign Policy

Nikolas K. Gvosdev (PhD, St. Antony′s College, Oxford University) is professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College, a senior editor at The National Interest, and a frequent commentator on U.S. foreign policy and international relations, Russian and Eurasian affairs, developments in the Middle East, and the role of religion in politics. The co-author of The Receding Shadow of the Prophet: The Rise and Fall of Political Islam, Gvosdev has published over 50 articles, columns, and essays on democratization and human rights; general foreign policy; energy policy; foreign policy of Russia and the Eurasian states; U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East; politics and culture of the Eurasian states; and religion and politics. His work has appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, National Review, Religion State and Society, The National Interest, Orbis, The Washington Quarterly, Problems of Post-Communism, and World Policy Journal. Christopher Marsh is a professor at the School of Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth. Previously he taught international terrorism and irregular warfare at the US Air Force Special Operations School, Hurlburt Field, and was a professor of political science at Baylor University for 12 years. He is the author of several books on Russian affairs and comparative Russian-Chinese politics, including Unparalleled Reforms (2006) and Religion and the State in Russia and China (2011). His current research focuses on Russian foreign and defense policy, particularly military cooperation between Russia and China, and religion and war.

• List of Tables, Figures, and MapPrincipal Vectors in Russian Foreign PolicyPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the EditorsIntroductionThe Challenges Facing Russia1. The Historical Legacy for Contemporary Russian Foreign PolicyThe Soviet Legacy2. Vectors and Sectors: The Russian Foreign Policy MechanismThe Constitutional Structure: President and Prime MinisterSearching for a Role: The LegislatureThe Position of the Foreign Ministry: One Actor Among ManyThe Regional GovernmentsThe State Companies and Private BusinessThe Nongovernmental OrganizationsRussian National Security Decision MakingThe Principal Vectors3. The United States: The Main Enemy or Strategic Partner?Legacy of the Cold WarGorbachev: The Search for CondominiumThe Yeltsin Era and "Tainted Transactions"Putin-Bush and Obama-Medvedev: Soul Connections?Some Enduring ObstaclesInstitutionalizing the RelationshipThe Balance Sheet4. The Bear and the Dragon: China and the East Asia VectorTriangular Relations: Opportunities and ChallengesThe Dragon Turns to the BearThe Bear Embraces the DragonThe Bear Arms the DragonAn Emerging Strategic Alliance?Mending Fences: Russia-Japan RelationsKorea: Unparalleled RelationsVietnam: Moscow′s Toehold in Southeast AsiaSetting Its Eyes on Asia5. The Eurasian SpaceThe Disintegration of the Soviet UnionThe Eurasian VisionBreaking Up Is Hard To DoThe Frozen ConflictsThe Georgia-Russia War and Its AftermathThe Ties That BindSecuring EurasiaA Eurasian Convergence Zone?The Eurasian Union: USSR Lite?EuraskepticismPutin’s Eurasian Dream6. Eastern Europe: Comrades no MoreThe Second World War and the Creation of the Soviet Bloc1989-1999: The Attempt to Preserve Eastern EuropeThe Baltics and Beyond: NATO’s Reach EastBaltic [In]SecurityFrom Tragedy to Reconciliation? Developments in Russia-Poland RelationsRussian Impotence in the BalkansMoscow’s "Ruble Diplomacy" and Russia′s Return to Eastern Europe7. Europe: Russia′s "Traditional Orientation"Russia and the European Union Since the Soviet CollapseThe Russo-German RelationshipThe Russian Relationship with FranceThe Overlooked Partnership: Italy and RussiaThe Bulldog and the Bear: Russia and Great BritainOther RelationshipsThe Arctic DimensionConcluding Thoughts8. The Near-Eastern VectorRussia-Turkey: The Unexpected PartnershipIsrael: "Practically a Russian-Speaking Country"?Russia-Saudi Arabia: The Start of a Rapprochement?Traditional Arab PartnersMoscow’s Traditional Ally SyriaThe Transformation of Russian-Iranian RelationsOverall Conclusion9. Call Across the Himalayas: The South Asia VectorThe Immediate Post-Soviet PolicyThe Failed Rapprochement with Pakistan?The Model Partnership: IndiaThe Russia-India-China TroikaDrivers of the Indo-Russian Entente10. Africa and Latin America: The Southern VectorThe Return to AfricaLatin America BeckonsBuilding the BRICS11. EpilogueIndex