Foreign And Security Policy Decisionmaking Under Yeltsin

This report suggests strategies for managing U.S.-Russian relations in light of the current highly fluid situation within the top echelons of the Yeltsin government and the uncertainties surrounding Yeltsin's health.

Almost three years after the first voluntary handover of power in Russian history, this book examines Putin's management of this complex agenda, and considers how Moscow's current approach to international relations resembles and differs from that under Yeltsin. 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'' 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.

This work examines the CFE Treaty as a factor in Russia’s foreign and security policy. Moscow showed amazing persistence in their relationship with the "cornerstone of European security." Their approach to the treaty was a genuine attempt to shape the security environment in Europe and the former USSR. The treaty also enabled the dismantling of large conventional forces as they returned from Eastern Europe and transitioned into the armies of the newly independent states of the former USSR. The CFE Treaty, though, proved ineffective at constraining the enlargement of NATO. Simultaneously, Moscow’s foreign and security policy evolved from one that focused on the domestic development of the country to that of a more confident state reasserting itself as a great power. Drawing extensively on primary sources and analyses by Russian authors, this book employs two historical narratives, case studies, and a conceptual framework to show that while Moscow remained engaged with the CFE Treaty, undesired effects on Russia’s national interests gradually accrued at the expense of desired ones, leading Vladimir Putin to withdraw Russia from the treaty as an act of de-coupling from the "collective West." This book is relevant to scholars and policymakers who want to understand Russia’s approach to arms control as an element of military security.

Why has the stalemate in Japanese-Russian relations persisted through the end of the Cold War and Moscow's weakening control over its far eastern territories? In this volume Kimura continues his comprehensive analysis of Russia and Japan's strained and unstable relations to the present day.

Russia's foreign policy experience in the first post-Soviet decade was marked by disappointments as well as surprising turns. Expectations that Russia would join the Western powers as an equal partner were frustrated, while relations with the People's Republic of China warmed considerably. Today, Russia's relationship with China is an important component of its overall foreign policy orientation, as the two states - one greatly diminished, the other clearly on the rise - have found themselves sharing an interest in curbing the power of the United States. In analyzing Russia's evolving foreign policy vis-a-vis China, the author takes into account the legacy of Soviet-era precedents; the simultaneous processes of economic policy change and integration into global economic structures; and military relations. By shedding light on the role of political realism, decision makers, and exogenous factors in Russian foreign policy, this analysis of an important bilateral relationship contributes to the larger project of understanding international relations and the dynamics of domestic and foreign policy change.

The relationship between Russia and Germany has been pivotal in some of the most fateful events of the twentieth century: the two World Wars, the Cold War, and the emergence of a new Europe from the ashes of communism. This is the first book to examine the recent evolution of that tense and often violent relationship from both the Russian and German perspectives. Angela Stent combines interviews with key international figures--including Mikhail Gorbachev--with insights gleaned from newly declassified archives in East Germany and her own profound understanding of Russian-German relations. She presents a remarkable review of the events and trends of the past three decades: the onset of d tente, the unification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the rise of an uncertain new European order. Stent reveals the chaos and ambivalence behind the Soviet negotiating strategy that led--against Gorbachev's wishes--to that old Soviet nightmare, a united Germany in NATO. She shows how German strength and Russian weakness have governed the delicate dance of power between recently unified Germany and newly democratized Russia. Finally, she lays out several scenarios for the future of Russian-German relations--some optimistic and others darkened by the threat of a new authoritarianism. Russia and Germany Reborn is crucial reading for anyone interested in a relationship that changed the course of the twentieth century and that will have a powerful impact on the next.

NATO's Eastern agenda faces several challenges, including consolidating the democratic transitions in Central and Eastern Europe, ensuring the security of the Baltic states, developing a post-NATO-enlargement strategy for Ukraine, deepening the Russia-NATO partnership, and engaging the Caucasus and Central Asia. The author also considers NATO's broader transformation.