Abstract
Russian foreign policy is both an expression of Moscow's internal political dealings around the presidential administration and the bureaucracies that support it, with their focus on the shaping and making of foreign policy, as well as its implementation, which is grounded in Russia's stated goal of its reassertion in the international system as a major power. This is a process that is embedded in continuous interaction between different levels of agency and the construction of understandings and perceptions, both at the domestic and the international level. Looking at foreign policy as a process, the article argues that the study of foreign policy should go beyond strictly positivist assumptions, as relations between the different actors and the foreign policy approaches that these suggest are embedded in structural, material and ideational dimensions. Departing from this conceptual frame, the article looks at Russian foreign policy, seeking to understand how the internal/external linkages take place in the process of policy construction, looking in particular at socialisation processes and normative adaptation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Foreign policy ‘should not be positivist, in the sense of assuming that “facts” are always external and disconnected from actors’ perceptions and self-understandings’ (Hill, 2003, p. 10).
For a debate about domestic–political interactions in the explanation of state's foreign policies, see Fearon (1998).
For an overview of Russia's relations with the United States and the EU, see Kanet (2012).
References
Alons, G. (2007) Predicting a state's foreign policy: States preferences between domestic and international constraints. Foreign Policy Analysis 3 (3): 211–232.
Arnold, C. (2008) Putin confirmed as Russian Prime Minister. RFE/RL 8 May.
Breuning, M. (2007) Foreign Policy Analysis: A Comparative Introduction. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bush, G.W. (2008) US President George W Bush – Georgia conflict: Key statements. BBC News 15 August.
Carlsnaes, W. (2003) Foreign policy. In: W. Carlsnaes, T. Risse and B. Simmons (eds.) Handbook of International Relations. London: Sage, pp. 331–349.
Checkel, J.T. (2005) International institutions and socialization in Europe: Introduction and framework. International Organization 59 (4): 801–826.
Copeland, D.C. (2006) The constructivist challenge to structural realism: A review essay. In: S. Guzzini and A. Leander (eds.) Constructivism and International Relations: Alexander Wendt and His Critics. London: Routledge.
Evangelista, M. (1997) Domestic structure and international change. In: M. Doyle and G.J. Ikenberry (eds.) New Thinking in IR Theory. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Fearon, J.D. (1998) Domestic politics, foreign policy, and theories of international relations. Annual Review of Political Science 1: 289–313.
Freire, M.R. (2008) The Russian federation and CIS states. In: E.A. Kolodziej and R.E. Kanet (eds.) From Superpower to Besieged Global Power: Restoring World Order after the Failure of the Bush Doctrine. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
Heller, R. (2012) Subjectivity matters: Reconsidering Russia's relations with the west. In: R.E. Kanet and M.R. Freire (eds.) Russia and European Security. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Republic of Letters Publishing.
Herrmann, R. (1986) The power of perceptions in foreign-policy decision making: Do views if the Soviet Union determine the policy choices of American leaders? American Journal of Political Science 30 (4): 841–875.
Hill, C. (2003) The Changing Politics of Foreign Policy. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave MacMillan.
Hill, C. (2010) The future of foreign policy analysis. In: R.A. Denemark (ed.) The International Studies Encyclopedia. Hobokon, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hosking, G. (2003) Russia and the Russians: A History. Harvard: Belknap.
Houghton, D. (2007) Reinvigorating the study of foreign policy decision making: Toward a constructivist approach. Foreign Policy Analysis 3 (1): 24–45.
Hurrell, A. (2003) International law and boundaries. In: A. Buchanan and M. Moore (eds.) States, Nations, and Borders. The Ethics of Making Boundaries. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
IMF. (2010) International Monetary Fund – 2010 world economic outlook. October, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/02/index.htm, accessed 2 March 2011.
Kanet, R.E. (2012) Russia, the EU and the United States: Intertwined relationships. In: R.E. Kanet and M.R. Freire (eds.) Russia and European Security. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Republic of Letters Publishing.
Katzenstein, P. (1976) International relations and domestic structures: Foreign economic policies of advanced industrial states. International Organization 30 (1): 1–45.
Klotz, A. (1995) Norms in International Relations: The Struggle against Apartheid. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
Kortunov, S.V. (2000) The fate of Russia: Several observations on ‘New’ Russian identity. In: G. Freidin (ed.) Russia at the End of the Twentieth Century: Culture and its Horizons in Politics and Society (Conference Papers – Stanford 1998). Stanford, CA: Stanford University.
Kowert, P.A. (2010) Foreign policy and the social construction of state identity. In: R.A. Denemark (ed.) The International Studies Encyclopedia. Hobokon, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, http://www.isacompendium.com/public/, accessed 2 October 2010.
Laenen, R. (2012) Russia's ‘vital and exclusive’ national interests in the near abroad. In: R.E. Kanet and M.R. Freire (eds.) Russia and Its Near Neighbours: Identity, Interests and Foreign Policy. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave MacMillan.
Lavrov, S. (2008) Why Russia's response to Georgia was right. Financial Times 12 August.
Lebow, N. (2006) Fear, interest and honour: Outlines of a theory of International Relations. International Affairs 82 (3): 431–448.
Lowenhardt, J. (2000) Russia and Europe: Growing apart together. The Brown Journal of World Affairs VII (1): 167–174.
Makarychev, A. (2010) La Presidencia de Medvédev: El Perfil Cambiante de la Federación Rusa. In: CIDOB (ed.) Anuario Internacional CIDOB 2010. Madrid, Spain: CIDOB, pp. 435–442.
Medvedev, D. (2008a) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev – Georgia conflict: Key statements. BBC News 15 August.
Medvedev, D. (2008b) Interview given by Dmitry Medvedev to Television Channels Channel One, Rossia, NTV. President of Russia Official Web Portal, 31 August, http://archive.kremlin.ru/eng/text/speeches/2008/08/31/1850_type82912type82916_206003.shtml, accessed 2 March 2011.
Porter, B. (1996) Russia and Europe after the Cold War: The interaction of domestic and foreign policies. In: C. Wallander (ed.) The Sources of Russian Foreign Policy after the Cold War, The John M. Olin Critical Issues Series. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Putnam, R.D. (1988) Diplomacy and domestic politics: The logic of two-level games. International Organization 42 (3): 427–460.
Rosenau, J. (2006) Pre-theories and theories of foreign policy. In: The Study of World Politics: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges, Vol. 1, London: Routledge, Reprint of the article originally published in R.B. Farrell (ed.) (1966), Approaches to Comparative and International Politics, Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Roxanna, S. (2007) The discursive origins of a doctrine: Norms, identity, and securitization under Harry S. Truman and George W. Bush. Foreign Policy Analysis 3 (3): 233–254.
Russian Federation. (2000a) The foreign policy concept of the Russian federation, approved by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, 28 June, http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/doctrine/econcept.htm, accessed 2 March 2011.
Russian Federation. (2000b) Russian military doctrine. 21 April, http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/doctrine/991009-draft-doctrine.htm, accessed 2 March 2011.
Russian Federation. (2000c) National security concept of the Russian federation. 18 January, http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/doctrine/gazeta012400.htm, accessed 2 March 2011.
Russian Federation. (2008) The Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation. 12 July, http://archive.kremlin.ru/eng/text/docs/2008/07/204750.shtml, accessed 2 March 2011.
Saideman, S. and Ayres, R.W. (2007) Pie crust promises and the sources of foreign policy: The limited impact of accession and the priority of domestic constituencies. Foreign Policy Analysis 3 (3): 189–210.
Sakwa, R. (2012) The cold peace: Making sense of Russia's relationship with the west. In: R.E. Kanet and M.R. Freire (eds.) Russia and European Security. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Republic of Letters Publishing.
Slezneva, L. (2003) Post-Soviet Russian foreign policy: Between doctrine and pragmatism. In: R. Fawn (ed.) Realignments in Russian Foreign Policy. London: Frank Cass, pp. 10–28.
Trenin, D. (2006) Russia leaves the west. Foreign Affairs 85 (4): 87–96.
Trenin, D. (2008) Russia's foreign policy: Self-affirmation, or a tool for modernization? Open Democracy 13 May, http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/russias-foreign-policy-self-affirmation-or-a-tool-for-modernization, accessed 2 March 2011.
Tsygankov, A. and Tarver-Vahlquist, M. (2009) Duelling honors: Power, identity and the Russia–Georgia divide. Foreign Policy Analysis 5 (4): 307–326.
Wight, C. (1999) They shoot dead horses, don’t they? Locating agency in the agent-structure problematique. European Journal of International Relations 5 (1): 109–142.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Freire, M. Russian foreign policy in the making: The linkage between internal dynamics and the external context. Int Polit 49, 466–481 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/ip.2012.11
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ip.2012.11