1. Russia and Europe: National identity, national interest, pragmatism, or delusions of empire?
- Author:
- Robert F. Miller
- Publication Date:
- 05-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Australian National University Department of International Relations
- Abstract:
- Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow's weight in international relations underwent a tremendous decline. To appreciate the extent of change in the Russian Federation's (RF) foreign policy since the end of Soviet communism it is worth taking a brief look at the international relations of its predecessor, the USSR. An essential feature of Soviet foreign policy was that it was ideologically driven. Western commentators tended to play down this feature or treat it as mere window dressing for what was really just imperialism 'with a socialist face'. But it was more than that. It gave Soviet policy-makers a sure sense of identity and a guide, however faulty, to national ('international proletarian') interest.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, and Nationalism
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia