The Foreign Policy of Russia: Changing Systems, Enduring Interests

by Robert H. Donaldson, Vidya Nadkarni

Overview

Nogee and Donaldson's new text on contemporary Russian foreign policy is a valuable resource for specialists and the book of choice for college and university courses. The authors identify continuities in Russia's international behavior, despite regime changes, and the basic factors structuring these long-established patterns. They also analyze some of the external and internal forces that influence changes of policy direction, not all of which are predictable. The result is a perceptive, balanced treatment that provides readers with the context and the analytical tools needed to understand Russia's role in the world past, present, and future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138326781
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/18/2018
Edition description:	6th ed.
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robert H. Donaldson is Trustees Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Tulsa. He was educated at Harvard University, and he is past president of both the University of Tulsa and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He also has taught and held administrative positions at Lehman College of the City University of New York and Vanderbilt University and served as an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations at the U.S. Department of State and as visiting research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College. Professor Donaldson has written extensively on Soviet and Russian politics and foreign policy and has authored or co-authored five other books.

Vidya Nadkarni is Professor of Political Science at the University of San Diego, where she has taught since 1990. She was educated at St. Xavier’s College, University of Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru University-New Delhi, and the University of British Columbia. Professor Nadkarni teaches courses in the area of international relations and foreign policy, and her research interests center on the foreign policies of resurgent (Russia) and aspiring (China, India) global powers. She is the author of Strategic Partnerships in Asia: Balancing without Alliances (2010) and co-editor of Emerging Powers in a Comparative Perspective: The Political and Economic Rise of the BRIC Countries (2012) and Challenge and Change: Global Threats and the State in the 21st Century (2016).

Table of Contents

	Maps	vii
	Acknowledgments	ix
1.	The Tsarist Roots of Russia's Foreign Policy	3
2.	Soviet Foreign Policy: From Revolution to Cold War	23
3.	Soviet Foreign Policy: The Cold War	62
4.	Domestic Factors in the Making of Russian Foreign Policy	108
5.	Russia and the Near Abroad	155
6.	Russia and the West	189
7.	Russia and the "Non-West"	233
8.	Conclusion	283
	Notes	293
	Index	311

Editorial Reviews

Probably the best-known study of Russia's foreign policy is George F. Kennan's classic Russia and the West Under Lenin and Stalin (LJ 4/15/61). Political scientists Donaldson (Univ. of Tulsa) and Nogee (Univ. of Houston) broaden the focus of Kennan's classic work and offer a sweeping yet concise overview of Russia's role and behavior in international politics. Much of their book serves as background for the authors' chief task: to explain and anticipate the current foreign policy aims of the leaders of the Russian republic. They find a consistent pursuit of balance-of-power politics and military alliances by Russian leaders from tsarist times to the present. Seven key variables are put forth to explain the changing directions of Soviet foreign policy within the framework of an "international system." They cautiously conclude that the current "multipolar" environment might lead to a more cooperative approach by Russia's current leaders--although unpredictable personality traits are still a concern. This is a useful title for academic libraries.--Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA

Library Journal

Identifies continuities in Russia's international behavior across regime changes, looks at the basic factors structuring these long- established patterns, and analyzes internal and external forces that influence changes in policy direction. Coverage extends from the tsarist roots of Russia's foreign policy through the Revolution, the Cold War, and the 1990s. Paper edition (unseen), $23.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

Praise for the Sixth Edition

The updated edition of this indispensable text offers students of politics and international relations, policy-makers, and the public a systematic, accessible, and even-handed discussion of Russian policy-making concerning relations with other states. Rooted by necessity in historical context from Tsarism up to early 2018, the book provides incisive, nuanced, and compelling analysis of changes and continuities in how Russian leaders perceive what is in their national interest and how they interpret and react to the actions of leaders elsewhere. Donaldson and Nadkarni offer a wise, timely contribution to debates about statecraft, soft power, pragmatism, East-West relations, and the role of cyber-crime.

Mary Buckley, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge

Donaldson and Nadkarni’s text is the best around, encapsulating the best of American scholarship on Russia: It demonstrates a deep knowledge of Imperial, Soviet, and contemporary history, paired with a complex yet clear understanding of domestic realities’ role in foreign policy decision-making and implementation. The up-to-date sixth edition covers, for example, the Kremlin’s growing use of soft power and devotion to Eurasian (rather than European) economic integration. This book will be of great use to students, international relations professionals, and businesspeople interested in or implicated by Russian foreign policy.

Stanislav L. Tkachenko, Saint Petersburg State University

The Foreign Policy of Russia is a sober and accessible analysis for both students and researchers. This a rare opportunity to get a full review of the origins, incentives, and challenges of Putin’s controversial foreign policy.

Andrei Kolesnikov, Carnegie Moscow Center

This textbook will provide undergraduate students with an excellent foundation in understanding general tendencies in Russia’s external relationships over time as well as a coherent framework of analysis for exploring specific issues in greater depth through more specialized articles, book chapters, and monographs. In short, it is an ideal text for a survey course on Russian foreign policy or even for a more general course on international relations or comparative foreign policy that includes intensive attention to one or more of the great powers.

Allen C. Lynch, University of Virginia

Praise for the Sixth Edition

The updated edition of this indispensable text offers students of politics and international relations, policy-makers, and the public a systematic, accessible, and even-handed discussion of Russian policy-making concerning relations with other states. Rooted by necessity in historical context from Tsarism up to early 2018, the book provides incisive, nuanced, and compelling analysis of changes and continuities in how Russian leaders perceive what is in their national interest and how they interpret and react to the actions of leaders elsewhere. Donaldson and Nadkarni offer a wise, timely contribution to debates about statecraft, soft power, pragmatism, East-West relations, and the role of cyber-crime.

Mary Buckley, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge

Donaldson and Nadkarni’s text is the best around, encapsulating the best of American scholarship on Russia: It demonstrates a deep knowledge of Imperial, Soviet, and contemporary history, paired with a complex yet clear understanding of domestic realities’ role in foreign policy decision-making and implementation. The up-to-date sixth edition covers, for example, the Kremlin’s growing use of soft power and devotion to Eurasian (rather than European) economic integration. This book will be of great use to students, international relations professionals, and businesspeople interested in or implicated by Russian foreign policy.

Stanislav L. Tkachenko, Saint-Petersburg State University

The Foreign Policy of Russia is a sober and accessible analysis for both students and researchers. This a rare opportunity to get a full review of the origins, incentives, and challenges of Putin’s controversial foreign policy.

Andrei Kolesnikov, Carnegie Moscow Center

From the Publisher