Russia’s Role in World Politics : Power, Ideas, and Domestic Influences

This book explores Russia's role in world politics. In recent years, Moscow has played an increasingly active and assertive role in geopolitics. Examples include Russia’s takeover of Crimea and meddling in eastern Ukraine; Russia’s military intervention in Syria and support for the Assad government; the Kremlin’s alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential race; the pursuit of closer economic and diplomatic ties with China; and Russia’s ambitious military reforms and nuclear brinkmanship.Not surprisingly, Russia’s role in world politics has become the object of a spirited debate among Western policymakers, think-tank analysts, and academics. Much of this debate focuses on one central question: What are the main drivers, or causes, of Moscow’s recent assertiveness? The contributions gathered here address this question by focusing on the interplay of power, ideas, and domestic influences. Previously published in International Politics Volume 56, issue 6, December 2019 Contents 5 Russia’s role in world politics: power, ideas, and domestic influences 6 Abstract 6 Introduction 6 Russian foreign policy: the ongoing debate 7 Power-based explanations 8 Ideational explanations 9 Domestic political explanations 9 The case for combining power, ideas, and domestic influences 11 Shortcomings of the existing explanations 11 The perils and promises of analytical eclecticism 13 Road map of the special issue 14 References 16 Understanding Russia’s return to the Middle East 19 Abstract 19 Introduction 19 The Arab spring and Russian domestic factors 21 Ideational factors: state, society and Islam 26 Power, interest and flexibility 28 Conclusion 32 References 33 Reckless ambition: Moscow’s policy toward the United States, 201617 36 Abstract 36 Introduction 36 What actually happened in 2016 38 Putin as an individual decision-maker 42 All dictators are aggressive and lonely 43 Competing interests within Putin’s inner patron–client circle 46 Intelligence officers run amok? 48 Conclusion 49 Acknowledgements 51 References 51 Explaining Russian foreign policy towards the EU through contrasts 55 Abstract 55 Introduction 55 Contrasts as questions and counterfactuals 57 Realist explanations 58 Liberal explanations 60 Constructivist explanations 62 Psychological explanations 64 Events and issues as explanations 65 Conclusion 67 References 68 Russia’s relationship with China: the role of domestic and ideational factors 71 Abstract 71 Introduction 71 National identity as an ideational and domestic construct 73 Domestic sources of Russian foreign policy toward China 74 The Putin system 74 The Chinese case 75 Ideational motivations of Russian policy toward China 77 Great power status as a hallmark of national identity 77 Sources of Russian national identity: alternative narratives 79 Assessment: A move to the east? 81 Conclusion 83 References 84 The quest for status: how the interplay of power, ideas, and regime security shapes Russia’s policy in the post-Soviet space 88 Abstract 88 Introduction 88 Status: power politics, national identity and regime security 89 The game changer: Ukraine 92 Eurasian Economic Union: Russia in, Ukraine out 94 Georgia: rewinding and fast-forwarding the 2008 war implications 96 Conclusion 99 References 100 Strategic imperatives, status aspirations, or domestic interests? Explaining Russia’s nuclear weapons policy 103 Abstract 103 Introduction 103 Russia’s nuclear force modernization 105 Maintaining a secure second-strike capability 106 Compensating for Russia’s conventional weakness 107 Countering US missile defenses 108 Russia’s nuclear exercises and maneuvers 109 Russia’s status aspirations: the nuclear dimension 110 Russia’s nuclear doctrine and rhetoric 112 The insufficiency of strategic and status explanations 113 Domestic politics and the imperative of regime security 114 Conclusion 115 References 117