Preface : Shifting Priorities in Russia's Foreign and Security Policy

Abstract

The editors wish to express their appreciation to the authors of the chapters in this volume. They are grateful both for the quality of their analyses and for the authors’ willingness to revise and update early drafts of their papers in response to editorial suggestions to clarify and strengthen the arguments presented. The original idea for a volume examining the recent shifts in Russian foreign policy emerged in the planning for a mini-workshop held in Prague, Czech Republic, 24–6 June 2012, at which the authors of the following chapters were able to present, share, and comment on the initial drafts of their papers and, therefore, to benefit from the intellectual stimulation that resulted from these personal interactions. All involved wish to thank those from the Section on Comparative International Studies of the International Studies Association who facilitated the scheduling and holding of the meeting.

The reader may be interested to know that over the past half a dozen years many of those involved in this project—authors from Russia to North America, from the Middle East and Central Asia to Australia and Europe—have, along with others, been engaged in a series of joint efforts to examine Russian foreign and security policy. In most cases, the projects have developed much as this one, with a series of papers organized around a theme and originally prepared for and presented at workshops and international academic conferences during which the authors were able to share ideas and contribute to the depth and quality of each participant’s analyses. Through these interactive sessions we have evolved into something of an informal research group and have strengthened our understanding of the reality of Russian foreign policy.1 Just as important, we have begun to build together a series of analyses of Russian foreign and security policy that provides an increasingly comprehensive picture. That picture is informed by the substantial differences in perspective that we bring to this analysis, including the sometimes conflicting perspectives and analyses of Russian scholars living and working in Russia with their European or North American colleagues.

On behalf of all the authors, the editors wish to thank the many others who have made important contributions to the final publication of this book, in particular anonymous readers for the publisher and the publisher’s production staff. Their contributions have helped to ensure the clarity and readability of the final manuscript.