Russia in the Global World: International Relations and Foreign Policy of Russia

Master 2024/2025

Type: Compulsory course (Politics. Economics. Philosophy)

Area of studies: Political Science

Delivered by: School of Politics and Governance

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 2 year, 1, 2 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of all HSE University campuses

Instructors: Sergey Kondratiev, Andrei Skriba

Master’s programme: Политика. Экономика. Философия

Language: English

ECTS credits: 6

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

The course is intended to introduce international students to the Russian self-positioning in the global world and to provide understanding of the basis of Russia’s relations with other international actors. The course consists of three blocks. The first one analyses Russia’s primary foreign policy instruments. It will include an overview of institutional decision-making design, “hard” and “soft” power tools as they are perceived and used by Russian officials. The second block is designed as an overview of major driving forces and stages of the Russian foreign policy starting from the collapse of the USSR. The students will learn of Russia’s self-perception and self-positioning in the global multipolar world, as well as relations with other global actors and its participation the global governance institutions. Contemporary Russia’s identity in the context of relations with the West and the East will also be discussed in this block. The third block is focused on new global challenges and their influence on Russia’s self-perception and positioning in the world. The topics discussed will include: emerging technologies and their impact on international relations and Russia’s security; international migrations as a threat or developmental resource and its influence on human capital of modern Russia; economic vulnerabilities produced by growing protectionism, ex-territorial methods of economic pressure and trade wars, sanctions. The course will combine discourse analysis, constructivist, and neoinstitutional approaches.

Learning Objectives

1.- competence to understand and analyse major drivers and founding principles of post-Soviet foreign policy of Russia and its dynamics;
2. - competence to analyse Russia’s self-perception and self-positioning in the global world and the respective regions;
3. - develop skills to analyse and interpret key directions of Russia’s foreign policy and relations with other international actors.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Knowledge of basic tendencies in Russian migration flows, influence of demography and key principles of Russia's migration strategy
Knowledge of Russia's positions in the global enonomic relations system. Understanding of sanctions' and trade wars influence on Russia's economy.
Knowledge of Russia's priorities and interests in participating in OSCE, CSTO, UN Security Council, BRICS, G20. Understanding of Russia's view on the role of international multilateral organizations
Knowledge of the basis of relations between Russia and the “West”: main stages, key turning points and modern situation. Understanding of Russia's position on “Greater Europe” idea and origins of crisis between Russia’s and "collective West".
Knowledge of the main schools of foreign policy thinking in Post-Soviet Russia
Knowledge of the main sources of information on Russia’s foreign policy: official documents, web-sites, newspapers, media-resources. Skills to find the needed analytics on concrete topics. Skills to find academic articles on concrete issues.
Knowledge of the steps and different formats of integration on the post-soviet space; main institutional principles of Eurasian Economic Union; key goals and dymentions of integration. Understanding of Russia's goals and interests.
Understanding of main dichotomies of Russia’s identity. and challenges of post-soviet self-identification.
Understanding of the evolution of threat percentions, challenges and opportunities in Russia's foreing policy. Knowledge of the evolution of main foreign policy documents (foreign policy concepts, military docrines, etc.)
Understanding of the main drivers of Russia's "pivot to the east", Russia's interests and constrains. Knowledge of the key partnership of Russia in Asia and it's political and economic results.
Understanding of the peruliarities of Russia's "soft power", knowledge of main "soft power" institutes and instruments
Understanding of the role of non-governmantal institutions in decision-making process. Knowledge of main influential NGOs and academic institutions involved in consulting for the government, production of foreign policy ideas and recommendations.

Course Contents

Studying Russia’s foreign policy: the main tools and sources of knowledge
Non-governmental level: academic and expert community, NGOs
Post-soviet foreign policy schools and approaches in Russia
Continuity and discontinuity in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia’s foreign policy
Modern Russia’s foreign policy identity and self-positioning
Euro-Atlantic vector of Russia’s foreign policy
Eurasian vector of Russia’s foreign policy
Russia’s pivot to the East: opportunities and constraints
Russia in multilateral cooperation organizations
International migrations: a threat or development resource for Russia?
Russia’s soft power: challenges and reasons of limited success
Russia’s integration into the global economy: sovereignty vs development dilemma

Assessment Elements

Class attendance and class discussions participation
Preparing student’s presentation on selected topic
Multiple choice Tests
Final examination

Interim Assessment

2024/2025 2nd module
0.1 * Class attendance and class discussions participation + 0.5 * Final examination + 0.2 * Multiple choice Tests + 0.2 * Preparing student’s presentation on selected topic

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

A. A. Sergunin. (2014). Russian Soft Power: Origins, Institutions, Effectiveness. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.673C0B11
Bratersky, M., & Suzdaltsev, A. (2009). Central Asia: A Region of Economic Rivalry among Russia, China, the U.S., and the Eu. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.CC593A3A
Cygankov, A. P. . (DE-588)124065627, (DE-576)185330452. (2001). Pathways after empire : national identity and foreign economic policy in the post-Soviet world / Andrei P. Tsygankov. Lanham, Md. [u.a.]: Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.099815303
Florinskaya, Y. (Флоринская, Ю., & Mkrtchyan, N. (Мкртчян, Н. (2018). International Migration in Russia: A Qualified Component[Международная Миграция В России: Квалифицированная Составляющая]. Working Papers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.rnp.wpaper.021809
Gabuev, A. (2016). Friends with benefits? [Elektronische Ressource] : Russian-Chinese relations after the Ukraine crisis / Alexander Gabuev. Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Center. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.476547962
Gabuev, A. (DE-588)118491978X, (DE-627)1663805598. (2015). A “soft alliance”? Russia-China relations after the Ukraine crisis Alexander Gabuev. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.44305553X
Gulina, O. R. . V. (DE-588)1027838839, (DE-576)281515778, aut. (2017). Migration as a (geo)political challenge for Russia / Olga Gulina. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.496542648
Karaganov, S. (2018). The new Cold War and the emerging Greater Eurasia. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.8B2DA7B3
Laruelle, M. (DE-588)133464083, (DE-576)188853340. (2015). The “Russian world” [Elektronische Ressource] : Russia’s soft power and geopolitical imagination / Marlene Laruelle. Washington/D.C: Center on Global Interests. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.46822730X
Lebedeva, M. M. V. (DE-588)1051718589, (DE-627)786618302, (DE-576)407279407, aut. (2018). Russian studies of international relations from the Soviet past to the post-Cold-War present Marina Lebedeva ; with a foreword by Andrei P. Tsygankov. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.51570654X
M. V. Bratersky, & G. I. Kutyrev. (2019). Russia between Two Systems: Transit from The Atlantic World into the Eurasian- Pacific One. Контуры Глобальных Трансформаций: Политика, Экономика, Право, (1), 220. https://doi.org/10.23932/2542-0240-2019-12-1-220-240
Malinova, O. (2019). Russian Identity and the “Pivot to the East”: An Analysis of Rhetorical References to the American and Chinese “Others” in Political Elite Discourse. Problems of Post-Communism, 66(4), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2018.1502613
Marchetti, R. (2017). Partnerships in International Policy-Making : Civil Society and Public Institutions in European and Global Affairs. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1341140
Maxim Bratersky. (2016). Isolationism versus Geopolitics: The Dual Role of the Eurasian Economic Union in Global Governance. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.4D1825FB
Mikhail Konarovsky. (2016). Russia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Some Elements of Strategy. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.413E528E
Rjazancev, S. V. . V. (DE-588)130022640, (DE-576)297955861, aut. (2017). Migration from Central Asian countries to Russia and Kazakhstan in the context of integration processes in the Eurasian Economic Union format / Sergey Ryazantsev, Igor Bogdanov, Valentina Dobrokhleb, Artyom Lukyanets. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.49340757X
Romanova, T. (2016). Sanctions and the Future of EU–Russian Economic Relations. Europe-Asia Studies, 68(4), 774. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2016.1159664
Routledge handbook of Russian foreign policy / edited by Andrei P. Tsygankov. (2018). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.49697310X
S. G. Luzyanin. (2018). Bound by One Belt. Контуры Глобальных Трансформаций: Политика, Экономика, Право, (6), 41. https://doi.org/10.23932/2542-0240-2016-9-6-41-59
Sergey Karaganov. (2018). The new Cold War and the emerging Greater Eurasia. Journal of Eurasian Studies, (2), 85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euras.2018.07.002
Sergunin, A. A. V. (DE-588)1051712122, (DE-576)329660616, aut. (2016). Explaining Russian foreign policy behavior : theory and practice / Alexander Sergunin. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.476742978
Timofeev, I. (DE-588)117290362X, (DE-576)514870222. (2015). Eurasia in Russian foreign policy [Elektronische Ressource] : interests, opportunities and constraints / Ivan Timofeev; Elena Alekseenkova. Paris: Ifri - Institut Français des Relations Internationales. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.468212647
Timofeev, I. V. (DE-588)117290362X, (DE-627)1041997604, (DE-576)514870222, aut. (2019). Sanctions against Russia 2018 review and forecast for 2019 Ivan Timofeev, Vladimir Morozov ; RIAC, Russian International Affairs Council. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.1664561528
Trenin, D. V. . (DE-588)114738327, (DE-576)175880190. (2014). Russia’s breakout from the post-Cold War system [Elektronische Ressource] : the drivers of Putin’s course / Dmitri Trenin. Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Center. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.444960643
Trenin, D. V. . (DE-588)114738327, (DE-576)175880190. (2014). The Ukraine crisis and the resumption of great-power rivalry [Elektronische Ressource] / Dmitri Trenin. Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Center. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.425223302
Trenin, D. V. . (DE-588)114738327, (DE-576)175880190. (2015). From Greater Europe to Greater Asia? [Elektronische Ressource] : The Sino-Russian entente / Dmitri Trenin. Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Center. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.448993783
Trenin, D. V. . V. (DE-588)114738327, (DE-576)175880190, aut. (2016). Should we fear Russia? / Dmitri Trenin. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.478700369
Tsygankov, A. P. (2014). Contested Identity and Foreign Policy: Interpreting Russia’s International Choices. International Studies Perspectives, 15(1), 19–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/insp.12000
Tsygankov, A. P. (2018). Routledge Handbook of Russian Foreign Policy. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1735577
Tsygankov, A. P. (2019). Russia’s Foreign Policy : Change and Continuity in National Identity (Vol. Fifth edition). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2031489
Zagorskij, A. V. (2010). The Russian proposal for a treaty on European security : from the Medvedev initiative to the Corfu process / Andrei Zagorski. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389860611
Zhang, X., Li, L., & Gabuev, A. (2016). Competition or Coordination? The Eurasian Economic Union and China’s, One Belt, One Road Initiative. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.A0E28AE9

Recommended Additional Bibliography

A shared European home [Elektronische Ressource] : the European Union, Russia and the Eastern partnership / Elena Alekseenkova ... Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. (2016). Berlin. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.476544327
A. S. Maksimova. (2019). Migration of Highly Qualified Specialists from Russia: Methodology and Trends. Statistika i Èkonomika, (3), 34. https://doi.org/10.21686/2500-3925-2019-3-34-43
Andrei Tsygankov. (2006). If not by tanks, then by banks? The role of soft power in Putin’s foreign policy. Europe-Asia Studies, (7), 1079. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668130600926355
Entin, M. (2009). Can the European security dialogue return Russia the sense of ownership to the OSCE? / Mark Entin; Andrei Zagorski. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389856495
Entin, M. L. (2006). The Council of Europe on building common spaces in relations between Russia and the CE / [M. L. Entin]. o.O: Europe 2020. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389712396
ENTIN, M., & ENTINA, E. (2016). Russia’s role in promoting Great Eurasia geopolitical project. Rivista Di Studi Politici Internazionali, 83(3), 331–351. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=119243890
Gabuev, A. (DE-588)118491978X, (DE-627)1663805598. (2016). Post-Soviet states jostle for role in One Belt One Road Initiative by Alexander Gabuev. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.476552532
Ivan Timofeev, Yaroslav Lissovolik, & Liudmila Filippova. (2017). Russia’s Vision of the Belt and Road Initiative: From the Rivalry of the Great Powers to Forging a New Cooperation Model in Eurasia. China & World Economy, (5), 62. https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.2017.25.issue-5
KARAGANOV, S. (2008). Going Forward to Asia? Russian Politics & Law, 46(6), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.2753/RUP1061-1940460604
Karaganov, S. (2010). Russia’s Choice. Survival (00396338), 52(1), 5–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/00396331003612422
Karaganov, S. A. (2016). Russian foreign policy finding new bearings [Elektronische Ressource] / Sergey Karaganov. Moscow: Russia in Global Affairs. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.476546028
Karaganov, S. A. V. (DE-588)1051718570, (DE-627)786618337, (DE-576)407279415, aut. (2019). “Unfortunately for all of us, the world did not go the ‘European way’” an interview with Sergey Karaganov Sergey Karaganov. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.1665189339
Leonid Markovich Grigoryev, Pavlyushina Victoria Alexandrovna, Vlada Vladimirovna Brilliantova, & Nesipli Mavlit-Alievna Kulaeva. (2019). Models of Russian Economic Growth: Personal Consumption Trends. Prostranstvennaâ Èkonomika, (2), 150. https://doi.org/10.14530/se.2019.2.150-168
Malakhov, V. (Малахов, В., Letnyakov, D. (Летняков, Д., Simon, M. (Симон, М., & Motin, A. (Мотин, А. (2019). Russia in the system of global regulation of migration flows: opportunities for the development of international cooperation[Россия В Системе Глобального Регулирования Миграционных Потоков: Возможности Развития Международного Сотрудничества]. Working Papers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.rnp.wpaper.041923
Melville, A. (2017). A Neoconservative Consensus in Russia? Russian Politics & Law, 55(4/5), 315–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611940.2017.1533271
Migration in rural areas of Russia: territorial differences. (2019). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.C9BC419A
Oznobiščev, S. K. (2009). Prospects for U.S.-Russian arms control and disarmament : a Russian perspective / by Sergey Oznobishchev. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389867519
Romanova, T. (2016). Russian Challenge to the EU’s Normative Power: Change and Continuity. Europe-Asia Studies, 68(3), 371. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2016.1155696
Romanova, T. A. . V. (DE-588)171924568, (DE-627)389876453, (DE-576)132676486, aut. (2019). Studying EU-Russian relations an overview in search for an epistemic community Tatiana Romanova. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.1666078247
Russia-EU relations : the present situation and prospects / Centre for European Policy Studies. (2005). Brussels. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389731757
S. Luzyanin. (n.d.). Russia and China in the Central Asia: competition or cooperation? Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsclk&AN=edsclk.https%3a%2f%2fcyberleninka.ru%2farticle%2fn%2frussia-and-china-in-the-central-asia-competition-or-cooperation
Sabit Bagirov, Leonid Grigoriev, Wojciech Paczynski, Vladimer Papava, Marcel Salikhov, & Michael Tokmazishvili. (2009). Energy Trade and Cooperation Between the EU and CIS Countries. CASE Network Reports. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.sec.cnrepo.0083
Sergei Karaganov, & Fyodor Lukyanov. (n.d.). Russia in the World of Force in the 21st Century. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsclk&AN=edsclk.https%3a%2f%2fcyberleninka.ru%2farticle%2fn%2frussia-in-the-world-of-force-in-the-21st-century
Sergey Aleksandrovich Karaganov. (2016). New Ideological Struggle? Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.A9D5A128
Sergey Oznobishchev. (n.d.). Prospects for U.S.-Russian Arms control and Disarmament: A Russian Perspective Strategic Insights, Volume VIII, Issue 4 (September 2009). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.9C917CCE
Tatiana Romanova. (2008). Russia and Europe in the Twenty‐First Century: An Uneasy Partnership – Edited by J. Gower and G. Timmins. Journal of Common Market Studies, (3), 727. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5965.2008.00797_14.x
Tatiana V Karadje, & Dina V Tombu. (2019). Realities of the Migration Process in Russia: Quantitative “Pros” and Qualitative “Cons.” RUDN Journal of Political Science, (2), 175. https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-1438-2019-21-2-175-183
Towards a Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security community : from vision to reality / Drafting Group: Wolfgang Zellner (co-ordinator) ... Center for OSCE Research (CORE) . (2012). Hamburg: Center for OSCE Research. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.401353397
Trenin, D. V. . (DE-588)114738327, (DE-576)175880190. (2011). Post-imperium : a Eurasian story / Dmitri Trenin. Washington, DC [u.a.]: Carnegie Endowment for Internat. Peace. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.353110175
Trenin, D. V. . (DE-588)114738327, (DE-576)175880190. (2014). A practical approach to EU-Russian relations / Dmitri Trenin. Moscow: Carnegie Moscow Center. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.41307370X
Trenin, D. V. . V. (DE-588)114738327, (DE-576)175880190, aut. (2018). Avoiding U.S.-Russia military escalation during the hybrid war / Dmitri Trenin ; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.498065006
Trenin, D. V. . V. (DE-588)114738327, (DE-576)175880190, aut. (2018). European security : from managing adversity to a new equilibrium / Dmitri Trenin ; Carnegie Moscow Center. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.500562156
Tsygankov, A. P. (2006). Cultural Connections Across Time and Space: Civilizational Dimension of Russia’s Foreign Policy. Conference Papers —— International Studies Association, 1–24. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=27205418
Warner, D. (2010). From the OSCE Cluster of Competence to the Focus on the OSCE / Daniel Warner . Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389860964
Валериевич, Т. В. (2019). Миграция В Россию Из Стран Снг: Основные Ракурсы Проблемы. Society: Politics, Economics, Law, (10), 101–104. https://doi.org/10.24158/pep.2019.10.2

Authors

ALEKSEENKOVA ELENA SERGEEVNA
SKRIBA Andrei SERGEEVICH

Course Syllabus