Imperial Russian Foreign Policy

Imperial Russian Foreign Policy aims to demythologise a field hitherto dominated by suspicions of diabolical cunning, inscrutable motives, and international plots using unseen forces of the gigantic, fear-inspiring empire of the tsar. The contributors, leading historians from both Russia and the West, examine Imperial foreign policy from its origins to the October Revolution, revealing a policy that, as in other countries, had a complex of motives - commerce, nationalism, the interests of various social groups - but an unusual origin, coming almost exclusively from the entourage of the tsar. The work is based largely on original research in Soviet archives, which only became possible after Soviet glasnost.

Because the turbulent trajectory of Russia's foreign policy since the collapse of the Soviet Union echoes previous moments of social and political transformation, history offers a special vantage point from which to judge the current course of events. In this book, a mix of leading historians and political scientists examines the foreign policy of contemporary Russia over four centuries of history. The authors explain the impact of empire and its loss, the interweaving of domestic and foreign impulses, long-standing approaches to national security, and the effect of globalization over time. Contributors focus on the underlying patterns that have marked Russian foreign policy and that persist today. These patterns are driven by the country's political makeup, geographical circumstances, economic strivings, unsettled position in the larger international setting, and, above all, its tortured effort to resolve issues of national identity. The argument here is not that the Russia of Putin and his successors must remain trapped by these historical patterns but that history allows for an assessment of how much or how little has changed in Russia's approach to the outside world and creates a foundation for identifying what must change if Russia is to evolve. A truly unique collection, this volume utilizes history to shed crucial light on Russia's complex, occasionally inscrutable relationship with the world. In so doing, it raises the broader issue of the relationship of history to the study of contemporary foreign policy and how these two enterprises might be better joined.

Provides an introduction to the major developments that have characterized the foreign policy of Russia during the Tsarist, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods. Addresses the long-term historical continuities in Russian foreign policy, both as they undermined the status quo at the end of the Soviet era, and as they now condition Russia's search for a new definition of the national interest.

This book offers a fresh and stimulating analysis of the often elusive relationship between domestic and foreign policy in Russia before the First World War. Dietrich Geyer, one of Germany's leading historians of Russia, discusses a wide variety of economic, fiscal, institutional, and ideological developments within imperial Russia. In so doing, he brings into sharp relief the difficulties faced by the ruling elites in maintaining Russia's great power position in Europe, the Near East, and the Far East. Now available in English for the first time, this widely acclaimed book will be welcomed as an indispensable resource by all those who were unable to read the original German edition. "By far the most perceptive, knowledgeable, and intelligent work on the last half century of imperial Russia in print." -Theodore H. Von Laue, Russian History "This important, tightly packed book... analyzes the basic problems of Russian imperialism thoroughly and with enormous erudition.... Scholars concerned with imperialism and Russian domestic and foreign problems will welcome this thought-provoking work." -David MacKenzie, American Historical Review "A convincing and important analysis of the mutual dependence of autocratic domestic and foreign politics.... This book ought to be the occasion for a renewed and wide discussion of Russian imperialism and should give rise to further studies of the question." -Alan Kimball, Slavic Review "This is a remarkably good book. Good in many respects--quality of research and writing, breadth of view, command of the facts, balance and penetration in judgment, familiarity with relevant theory.... The book represents a revived and deepened historicism." -Paul W. Schroeder, Journal of Modern History

Introduction: the guns of August -- Contours of Russian foreign policy -- Bulldogs fighting under the rug: the making of Russian foreign policy -- Resetting expectations: Russia and the United States -- Europe: between integration and confrontation -- Rising China and Russia's Asian vector -- Playing with home field advantage? Russia and its post-Soviet neighbors -- Conclusion: dealing with Russia's foreign policy reawakening.

In 1904 a small, distant war brought Russia to the brink of internal collapse - and yet within ten years the country embroiled itself in an incomparably larger conflict close to home. How the war with Japan and its aftermath actually steered Russia toward such an unlikely, fateful decision is the subject of David McDonald's book, an analysis of Russian foreign policy on the eve of World War I.

The essays gathered here represent a panel at SSI's annual Russia conference in 2011. They focus on the analysis of Russian foreign policy both on its material side or actual conduct as well as on the cognitive bases of Russian thinking about international affairs and Russian national security. They span much of the gamut of that foreign policy and also show its strong linkages to the Russian historical tradition and to the imperatives of Russian domestic development.

The book suggests that the US-Russia post-9/11 partnership did not endure because much of America's policy is shaped by an ambition to remain the world's only superpower. The book analyzes the negative role played by Russophobia and advocates a different approach to Russia in the post-Cold War world.