Russia's foreign policy

"This clear and comprehensive text explores the past quarter-century of Soviet and Russian international relations, comparing foreign policy formation under Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin. Challenging conventional views of Moscow's foreign policy, Andrei P. Tsygankov takes a constructivist approach to argue that definitions of national interest depend on visions of national identity and that national identity itself is rooted in both history and domestic politics. Yet the author also highlights the role of the external environment in affecting the balance of power among competing domestic groups. Drawing on an impressive mastery of both Russian and Western sources. Tsygankov shows how Moscow's policies have shifted under different leaders' visions of Russia's national interests."--Jacket.