Russian Foreign Policy After the Cold War - by Leszek Buszynski (Hardcover)

About the Book

This important new study, drawing primarily on Russian sources, analyzes Russian foreign policy in the context of an ongoing national identity crisis. The work examines Russia's foreign policy in terms of two salient factors: (1) political and economic reform, given that foreign policy has been strongly influenced by reactions--positive and negative--to Yeltsin's reform agenda; and (2) Russia's geopolitical predicament between Europe and Asia, between East and West, which requires it to reconcile various strategic imperatives with regard to NATO, China, and the Islamic world. Buszynski's study reveals current Russian foreign policy as a process of interaction between these two factors, the result being considerable vacillation between support for the West and opposition to it. An important analysis that will be of interest to foreign policy and international relations experts in academia and government.

Book Synopsis

This important new study, drawing primarily on Russian sources, analyzes Russian foreign policy in the context of an ongoing national identity crisis. The work examines Russia's foreign policy in terms of two salient factors: (1) political and economic reform, given that foreign policy has been strongly influenced by reactions--positive and negative--to Yeltsin's reform agenda; and (2) Russia's geopolitical predicament between Europe and Asia, between East and West, which requires it to reconcile various strategic imperatives with regard to NATO, China, and the Islamic world. Buszynski's study reveals current Russian foreign policy as a process of interaction between these two factors, the result being considerable vacillation between support for the West and opposition to it. An important analysis that will be of interest to foreign policy and international relations experts in academia and government.

Review Quotes

?Buszynski's detailed and comprehensive monograph refers to Russia's foreign policy as one of 'disorientation, ' placing that country's current international challenges within the context of its recent political and economic reform, cultural upheaval, and even its change of borders and population due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union....A valuable reference work for academic readers, all levels.?-Choice

"Buszynski's detailed and comprehensive monograph refers to Russia's foreign policy as one of 'disorientation, ' placing that country's current international challenges within the context of its recent political and economic reform, cultural upheaval, and even its change of borders and population due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union....A valuable reference work for academic readers, all levels."-Choice

About the Author

LESZEK BUSZYNSKI is Associate Professor at the International University of Japan. A specialist on Russian foreign policy, he has authored several books, including Soviet Foreign Policy and Southeast Asia (1986) and Gorbachev and Southeast Asia (1992).