General University Courses: Russian Foreign Policy Thinking in the post-Communist Era. 3620-RFPTPCE-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 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 between proponents of three different currents of opinion: Atlantic, neo-Soviet and pragmatic/realist. Atlanticism advocated a pro-Western policy aiming at Russia’s integration with the West; neo-Soviet vision advocated a formation of an anti-Western bloc with the Third World while realists advocated a “multi-vector” policy of “equidistance” which was based on a classical “balance of power” formula. By mid-1990s a foreign policy consensus began to crystalize around the concept of “multipolarity” formulated by Yevgienii Primakov (foreign minister 1996-1999) with its agenda of restraining the American hegemony and form a concert of great powers in which Russia would play an equal role. This provided the conceptual basis for Russian foreign policy during Putin and Medvedev presidencies.
The course will look also at discussions within the Russian elite about the Russian policy towards particular countries or groups of countries and international organizations: the United States, Germany, China, the European Union, NATO, the post-Soviet states, Central Europe, the Balkans. It will descrbe Russian views on the major international issues of the 1990s and the first decade of 21st century: the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Western intervention in Kosovo, the American global hegemony, the European “security architecture” and the rise of non-Western powers. In particular it will look at the evolution of Russian thinking about the relations with the countries of the so-called “Near Abroad,” concentrating on the various proposals for the reintegration of the “post-Soviet space.” It will also examine the evolution of Russian thinking on the issue of the desirable shape of the international system and Russia’s place within it.
Overall the course will focus on peculiarities of what might be called the Russian forign policy culture which diverges greatly form the mainstream Western thinking on foreign policy in the post-modern era.
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Type of course

general courses

Course coordinators

Witold Rodkiewicz

Course dedicated to a programme

4EU+Courses

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

Bibliography

Required Reading
Bobo Lo, Russian Foreign Policy in the Post-Soviet Era. Reality, Illusion and Mythmaking (Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, 2002)
Yury E. Fedorov, 'Boffins' and 'Buffoons': Different Strains of Thought in Russia's Strategic Thinking (Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Briefing Paper 06/01) (March 2006);
John P. LeDonne, The Russian Empire and the World: 1700-1917: The Geopolitics of Expansion and Containment (N.Y., Oxford, 1997), p. 1-20, 347-369 (IO)
George Kennan, Memoirs 1925-1950 (New York., 1976), p. 547-559 (IO)
Andrei Kozyrev, „Russia: A Chance for Survival” Foreign Affairs (Spring 1992);
Andrei Kozyrev, „The New Russia and the Atlantic Alliance” NATO Review (Feb. 1993);
M. Bassin, “Eurasianism and Geopolitics in Post-Soviet Russia” [w:] Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Russia and Europe: Conference Proceedings, (ed.) J.M. Godzimirski (Oslo, 1996) (IO)
P. Baev, „The Russian Debate about the Near Abroad” [w:] Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Russia and Europe: Conference Proceedings, ed. J.M. Godzimirski (Oslo, 1996)
A.K. Pushkov, „Russia and America: The Honeymoon is Over” Foreign Policy 93 (winter 1993-1994);
M. Alekseev, „From Strategic Partnership to a ‘Pragmatic’ Relationship: Domestic Sources of Russia’s Perceptions of the United States” [w:] Russian National Security: Perceptions, Policies, and Prospects (ed.) M.H. Crutcher (Carlisle Barracks, PA, 2001)
Angela Stent, Russia and Germany Reborn: Unification, the Soviet Collapse and the New Europe (Princeton, N.J., 1999), p. 41-73 (IO);
M. Vahl, “Just Good Friends? The EU-Russian Strategic Partnership and the Northern Dimension” Center for European Policy Studies, Working Paper no. 166 (March 2001), p. 3-22; http://aei.pitt.edu/11679/
“The Russian Federation Middle Term Strategy towards the European Union (2000 - 2010)” http://www.delrus.ec.europa.eu/en/p_245.htm
S.J. Black, „Putin’s Twelve Step Program” The Washington Quarterly (Winter 2002);
Bobo Lo, “China and Russia: common interests, contrasting perceptions” CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets: Asian Geopolitics. Special Report (May 2006) www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/6619_russiachinamay06.pdf
F. Splidsboel-Hansen, „Past and Future Meet: Aleksandr Gorchakov and Russian Foreign Policy” Europe-Asia Studies 54/3 (May 2002);
Andrei P. Tsygankov, “If Not by Tanks, then by Banks? The Role of Soft Power in Putin’s Foreign Policy” Europa-Asia Studies Vol. 58, No. 7 (November 2006), p. 1079-1099;
Dmitri Trenin, “Russia Redefines Itself and Its Relations with the West” The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Spring 2007), p. 95-105;
Celleste A. Wallander, “Russian Transimperialism and Its Implications” The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Spring 2007), p. 107-122;
James Sherr, “Gas power politics” Thw World Today (Oct./Nov. 2012)
James Sherr, “Culpabilities and Consequences” Chatham House Briefing Note REP BN 08/01 (Sept. 2008);
James Sherr, “Russia: Managing Contradictions” http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/public/Research/Americas/us0510_sherr.pdf
Sherr, James, Hard diplomacy and soft coercion : Russia's influence abroad (London : Chatham House, 2013)
Putin’s speech at the Munich Conference on Security Policy, February 10, 2007
http://eng.kremlin.ru/transcripts/8498
Medvedev’s Draft European Security Treaty
http://www.mid.ru/ns-dvbr.nsf/dveurope/065fc3182ca460d1c325767f003073cc
“Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation Approved by President of the Russian Federation V. Putin on 12 February 2013”
http://www.mid.ru/bdomp/ns-osndoc.nsf/1e5f0de28fe77fdcc32575d900298676/869c9d2b87ad8014c32575d9002b1c38!OpenDocument

Term 2023L:

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:

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Description of 3620-RFPTPCE-OG in USOSweb