Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Russian Foreign Policy: Challenging the Western Liberal International Order?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Responding to a Resurgent Russia

Abstract

As Russia reasserts itself in an international system still governed by a “Western” conception of order drawn from liberal models of capitalism and democracy, how are the European Union and the United States responding to this re-emerging power? This is the question that we attempt to tackle in the conclusion to this volume; its answer has important implications for the viability of the current international economic and political order.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

     More generally, how the US responds to rising powers such as India, China, and Brazil poses a central challenge for analysts and policymakers.

  2. 2.

     Larson and Shevchenko (2010); Oliker et al. (2009).

  3. 3.

     Trenin (2006).

  4. 4.

     Rowe and Torjesen (2009).

  5. 5.

     Ikenberry and Wright (2008); Rowe and Torjesen (2009).

  6. 6.

     Pikayev (2009); Zagorski (2009).

  7. 7.

     Baev (2009).

  8. 8.

     Ikenberry and Wright (2008).

  9. 9.

     Economist Intelligence Unit (2010).

  10. 10.

     Gomart (2008); Larin (2007); Rowe and Torjesen (2009); Rykhtik (2011); Tsygankov (2009).

  11. 11.

     Hudson (2009).

  12. 12.

     Gomart (2008).

  13. 13.

     Averre (2005) discusses this disjuncture.

  14. 14.

     Haukkala (2008).

  15. 15.

     See Chapter 6 of this volume by Pavel Baev.

  16. 16.

     Paillard (2010).

  17. 17.

     Finon and Locatelli (2008).

  18. 18.

     Averre (2005); Forsberg and Seppo (2009); Haukkala (2009); Kulhanek (2010); Leonard and Popescu (2007).

  19. 19.

     See Chapter 6 of this volume. For a discussion of structural incompatibilities in the EU-Russia relationship, see Light (2009).

  20. 20.

     Lieven (2002).

  21. 21.

     Graham (2008).

  22. 22.

     Deudney and Ikenberry (2009).

  23. 23.

     See also Brovkin (2003); Hanson (2004); Lo (2008); Spechler (2010).

  24. 24.

     Oliker et al. (2009).

  25. 25.

     Economist Intelligence Unit (2010).

  26. 26.

     Roberts (2010b).

  27. 27.

     Roberts (2010a).

  28. 28.

     Hancock (2007); Roberts (2010b).

  29. 29.

     Kuchins (2007).

  30. 30.

     Ferdinand (2007); Pirchner (2008).

  31. 31.

     See pg. 104 of this volume.

  32. 32.

     Kanet (2008). Many also point out that rifts in the relationship existed long before the Iraq War – see Peterson (2006), for example.

  33. 33.

     Associated Press, 17 June 2010, available at <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/17/world/main6592403.shtml>. Accessed 29 September 2011.

  34. 34.

     Leff (2008-9), 12.

  35. 35.

     Trenin (2006), 92.

  36. 36.

     Quoted in The New York Times, 26 October 2010.

References

  • Averre, Derek. 2005. Russia and the European Union: Convergence or Divergence? European Security 14(2): 175–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baev, Pavel. 2009. Leading in the Concert of Great Powers: Lessons from Russia’s G8 Chairmanship. In The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy, edited by Elana Wilson Rowe and Stina Torjesen, 58–68. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baev, Pavel. 2011. Reformatting the EU-Russia Pseudo-Partnership: What a Difference a Crisis Makes. In Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States, edited by Vinod K. Aggarwal and Kristi Govella, 85–100. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brovkin, Vladimir. 2003. Who is with Whom: The United States, the European Union, and Russia on the Eve of War in Iraq. Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 11 (2): 212–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deudney, Daniel, and John Ikenberry. 2009. The Unraveling of the Cold War Settlement. Survival 51(6): 39–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Economist Intelligence Unit. 2010. Russia Country Report. London: The Economist Intelligence Unit

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferdinand, Peter. 2007. Sunset, Sunrise: China and Russia Construct a New Relationship. International Affairs 83(5): 841–867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finon, Dominique and Catherine Locatelli. 2008. Russian and European Gas Interdependence: Could Contractual Trade Channel Geopolitics? Energy Policy 36(1): 423–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsberg, Tuomas and Antti Seppo. 2009. Power without Infl uence? The EU and Trade Disputes with Russia. Europe-Asia Studies 61(10): 1805–1823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomart, Thomas. 2008. EU-Russia Relations: Toward a Way Out of Depression. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, Thomas. 2008. U.S.-Russia Relations: Facing Reality Pragmatically, In Europe, Russia and the United States: Finding a New Balance. Washington D.C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hancock, Kathleen. 2007. Russia: Great Power Image Versus Economic Reality. Asian Perspective 31(4): 71–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, Stephen E. 2004. Russia: Strategic Partner or Evil Empire? In Strategic Asia, 2004–5: Confronting Terrorism in the Pursuit of Powe r, edited by Ashley Tellis and Michael Wills, 163–198. Seattle: National Bureau of Asian Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haukkala, Hiski. 2008. Russian Reactions to the European Neighborhood Policy. Problems of Post-Communism 55(5): 40–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haukkala, Hiski. 2009. Lost in Translation? Why the EU has Failed to Influence Russia’s Development. Europe-Asia Studies 61(10): 1757–1775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ikenberry, G. John and Thomas Wright. 2008. Rising Powers and Global Institutions. New York: The Century Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanet, Roger. 2008. Still Mars, Still Venus? The United States, Europe, and the Future of the Transatlantic Relationship. International Politics 45(3): 231–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuchins, Andrew. 2007. Russia and China: The Ambivalent Embrace. Current History 106(702): 321–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulhanek, Jakub. 2010. The Fundamentals of Russia’s EU Policy. Problems of Post-Communism 57(5): 51–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larin, Viktor. 2007. Russian Policy in the Pacifi c at the Start of the 21 st Century. Svobodnaya Mysl 2: 142–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson, Deborah and Alexei Shevchenko. 2010. Status Seekers: Chinese and Russian Responses to U.S. Primacy. International Security 34 (4): 63–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leff, Carol Skalnik. 2008–9. US-EU-Russia: New Strategic Dynamics After Bush. Swords and Ploughshares 17 (1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Legvold, Robert. 2011. Meeting the Russian Challenge in the Obama Era. In Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States, edited by Vinod K. Aggarwal and Kristi Govella, 101–124. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leonard, Mark and Nicu Popescu. 2007. A Power Audit of EU-Russia Relations. European Council on Foreign Relations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieven, Anatol. 2002. The Secret Policemen’s Ball: The United States, Russia And The International Order After 11 September. International Affairs 78 (2) (Apr): 245–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Light, Margot. 2009. Russia and Europe and the Process of EU Enlargement. In The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy, edited by Elana Wilson Rowe and Stina Torjesen, 83–96. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo, Bobo. 2008. Axis of Convenience: Moscow, Beijing, and the New Geopolitics. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliker, Olga, Keith Crane, Lowell Schwartz, and Catherine Yusupov. 2009. Russian Foreign Policy: Sources and Implications. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paillard, Christophe-Alexandre. 2010. Russia and Europe’s Mutual Energy Dependence. Journal of International Affairs 63(2): 65–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, John. 2006. Is the Wolf at the Door This Time? Transatlantic Relations After Iraq. European Political Science 5(1): 52–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pikayev, Alexander. 2009. Russia’s Attitude towards Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regimes and Institutions: An Example of Multilateralism? In The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy, edited by Elana Wilson Rowe and Stina Torjesen, 69–82. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pirchner Jr., Herman. 2008. The Uncertain Future: Sino-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century. Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 16(4): 309–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, Cynthia. 2010a. Challengers or Stakeholders? BRICs and the Liberal World Order. Polity 42(1): 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, Cynthia. 2010b. Russia’s BRIC Diplomacy: Rising Outsider with Dreams of an Insider. Polity 42(1): 38–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, Elana Wilson and Stina Torjesen. 2009. Key Features of Russian Multilateralism. In The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy, edited by Elana Wilson Rowe and Stina Torjesen, 1–20. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rykhtik, Mikhail. 2011. How Russia Sees the World. In Responding to a Resurgent Russia: Russian Policy and Responses from the European Union and the United States, edited by Vinod K. Aggarwal and Kristi Govella, 15–34. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spechler, Dina. 2010. Russian Foreign Policy During the Putin Presidency: The Impact of Competing Approaches. Problems of Post-Communism 57(5): 35–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trenin, Dmitri. 2006. Russia Leaves the West. Foreign Affairs 85(4): 87–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsygankov, Andrei. 2009. Russia in Global Governance: Multipolarity or Multilateralism? In Contemporary Global Governance: Multipolarity vs. New Discourses on Multilateralism, edited by Dries Lesage and Pierre Vercauteren, 51–62. Brussels: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zagorski, Andrei. 2009. Multilateralism in Russian Foreign Policy Approaches. In The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy, edited by Elana Wilson Rowe and Stina Torjesen, 46–57. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Sarah Garding and Theocharis Grigoriadis for their helpful comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Kristi Govella & Vinod K. Aggarwal

Authors
  1. Kristi Govella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vinod K. Aggarwal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristi Govella .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic, Cooperation Study Center (BASC), University of California, Barrows Hall 802, Berkeley, 94720-1970, California, USA

    Vinod K. Aggarwal

  2. , Department of Political Science, University of California, Barrows Hall 210, Berkeley, 94720, USA

    Kristi Govella

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Govella, K., Aggarwal, V.K. (2012). Russian Foreign Policy: Challenging the Western Liberal International Order?. In: Aggarwal, V., Govella, K. (eds) Responding to a Resurgent Russia. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6667-4_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation