Russian Foreign Policy Thinking in the post-Communist Era 4035-RFP-BLOKI-OG

The course will deal with the foreign policy thinking of
Russian political and intellectual elites during the post-
Communist period from early 1990s to the present day. It
will examine the ideological/intelectual roots of Russia’s
war against Ukraine and its confrontations with the West.
It will describe the way that the Russian political
establishment approaches foreign policy and how it views
the current international situation and the role of Russia as
an important player on the world scene. It will trace the
Russian foreign policy debates that were taking place in
the early 1990s and describe the crystallization of foreign
policy consensus towards the end of the 1990s that
provided the conceptual basis for Russian foreign policy
during Putin and Medvedev presidencies. It woll then
look at the changes in Russian foreign policy that
followed Russia’s full scale war against Ukraine. It will
also look also at Russian elite thinking about relations
with key great powers (the United States, Germany,
China, India, Iran) and international organizations (the
European Union, NATO, BRICS, SCO).

1) The foreign policy tradition of Russia and the
Soviet Union
2) “New Thinking” in the Soviet Foreign Policy under
Mikhail Gorbachev, 1986-1991
3) A new Russia in a new world: an attempt to break
with the Soviet foreign policy tradition: the
“Atlanticism” of Andrei Kozyrev (1991-1993)
4) The resurgence of tradition: the “realist” and the
“rejectionist” currents in
the Russian foreign policy thinking
5) New Foreign Policy Doctrine (Jan.1993)
6) Russian debates about the “Near Abroad” in the
1990s
7) The Emerging Foreign Policy Consensus:
Yevgeniy Primakov and the “multipolarity” paradigm
8) Russia and Europe in at the turn of the 20 th and
21th century: relations with NATO, the EU, the
OSCE
9-10) Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy thinking (2000-
2014): traditional aims, modern means
11) The Kremlin and China: the making of a strategic
alliance 1996-2022
12-13) Preparing for a post-American world order:
the “Turn to the East”
14-15) Constructing an anti-Wester Axis: RF’s
foreign policy after the full-scale attack on Ukraine on
February 24, 2022.

Type of course

general courses

Course coordinators

Witold Rodkiewicz

Learning outcomes

wide and well-grounded knowledge about Russian foreign policy and relations between Russia and key international players (US, EU, China); extensive knowledge about Russian policy towards individual post-Soviet states and the impact this has on international politics; familiarity with issues concerning international security and military cooperation between Russia and NATO [K_W01, K_W05, K_W10]

Umiejętności:
Basic methodological and analytical skill which will enable him/her to identify, diagnose and predict the direction of development of relations between Russia and its international partners and the development of Russian foreign policy; ability to discuss in an informed manner Russian behavior on the international arena; correctly assess the points of potential conlicts between Russia and other international players, analyze their causes and consequences.
[K_U01, K_U05, K_U06]

Kompetencje Społeczne:
Competencies and abilities qualifying him to work as an expert on Russian foreign policy and oninternational relations in (1) national and sub-national administration, (2) internaional institutions, (3) diplomacy, (4) companies active in post-Soviet markets, (5) media, (6) think tanks and analytical centres cooperating with post-Soviet states.
[K_K06]

Assessment criteria

The extent of knowledge acquired during the lectures and through reading of the assigned texts.

Written final examination

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 4035-RFP-BLOKI-OG in USOSweb