Vladimir Putin And The Evolution Of Russian Foreign Policy

• Examines Putin's management of Russia's foreign policy two years after the first voluntary handover of power in Russian history.
  
• Considers how Moscow's current approach to international relations resembles and differs from that under Yeltsin.
  
• Analyses whether changes in foreign policy have been qualitative, or largely cosmetic.
  
• Explores growing talk of a ‘strategic partnership&apos' with the US and the West.
  
• Assesses the realism of such hopes and considers whether we are indeed witnessing a strategic shift in the mentality and conduct of such Russian foreign policy.

About the Author.

1. The Putin Phenomenon:.

2. The Inheritance:.

Identity and Self-Perception.

The Political Context.

The Institutional Context.

The Foreign Policy Panorama.

Conclusion.

3. The Policy-Making Environment:.

A Cast of Thousands?.

The Primacy of the Individual and the Making (and Breaking) of Policy.

All Together Now?.

Conclusion.

4. The Economic Agenda:.

The ‘Unaturalness’ of Economics.

Foreign Policy and Economic Reform.

The Integration Agenda and Globalization.

The Profit Motive.

Geoeconomics and Geopolitics.

Economization and a ‘Balanced’ Foreign Policy.

5. Security and Geopolitics:.

The Geopolitical Mindset.

Change and Continuity in Russian Strategic Thinking.

The Evolution of Threat Perceptions.The Future of Security and Geopolitics – From Anachronism to Rebirth?.

6. Identity, Values and Civilization:.

The Burden of the Past.

Integration with the West.

Identification with the West and the Evolution of the Russian World-View.

Conclusion.

7. 11 September and After:.

Policy-Making – Image and Reality.

The Economic Agenda – Westernization with Qualifications.

A New Conception of Security?.

The Repacking of Identity.

Strategic Opportunism.

Towards a Sustainable Foreign Policy.

Notes.

Index.