Economization Versus Power Ambitions ― Rethinking Russia's Policy Towards Post-soviet States

Eight chapters, presented by Meister (of the Research Institute of the German Council on Foreign Relations), investigate Russian foreign policy towards post-Soviet countries, focusing on such questions as the determinants of policy, the extent to which Russia can be said to wield soft power, the nature of the relationship between Russia and its post-Soviet neighbors, the compatibility of European Union and Russian approaches to the post-Soviet countries, and whether the EU can develop a cooperative policy towards the post-Soviet countries in a manner that avoids conflict with Russia. One of the key themes of the proceedings, as reflected in the title, is the ways in which the increasingly pragmatic economic focus of Russian foreign policy often comes into conflict with Russia's self-understanding as a great power, which is linked to the domestic and international legitimization of the ruling elite. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation c2014 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)