Russia and its Near Neighbours

LILIA A. ARAKELYAN Doctoral Student and Research Assistant, Department of International Studies, University of Miami, USADIANA DIGOL Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg, GermanyJOHN DUNLOP Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, USAGRAEME P. HERD Head of the International Security Programme, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Switzerland and Co-Director of the International Training Course in Security PolicyRIA LAENEN Senior Research Fellow, Institute for International and European Policy, University of Leuven, BelgiumLUKE MARCH Senior Lecturer in Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics, University of Edinburgh, UKBERTIL NYGREN Associate Professor of Political Science, Swedish National Defence College and at the Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, SwedenJOHN RUSSELL Professor of Russian and Security Studies, School of Social and International Studies, University of Bradford, UK LICÍNIA SIMÃO teaches at the University of Beira Interior, PortugalHANNA SMITH Researcher, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, FinlandMATTHEW SUSSEX Senior Lecturer, School of Government, University of Tasmania, Australia

• Introduction: Russia and its Near Neighbours; M.R.Freire & R.E.Kanet PART I: DETERMINANTS OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY Russia's Vital and Exclusive National Interests in the Near Abroad; R.Laenen Domestic Influences on Russian Foreign Policy: Status, Interests and Ressentiment ; H.Smith Nationalist Grievance and Russian Foreign Policy? The Case of Georgia; L.March The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War: Which Side Went First?; J.B.Dunlop PART II: RUSSIA AND THE CIS Whose Near Abroad? Dilemmas in Russia's Declared Sphere of Privileged Interests; J.Russell Russia's European Security Treaty and the Kyrgyz Crisis; G.Herd Central Asia in Russian and US Foreign Policy: Between Continuity and 'Reset'; L.Simão Russia's Foreign Policy towards Central Asia; D.Digol PART III: ENERGY IN RUSSIAN-CIS RELATIONS Strategic Security and Russian Resource Diplomacy; M.Sussex Russian Resource Politics toward the CIS Countries under Medvedev; B.Nygren Russia's Energy Policies in Eurasia: Empowerment or Entrapment?; M.R.Freire Russian Energy Policy in the South Caucasus; L.Arakelyan & R.E.Kanet Conclusion; M.R.Freire & R.E.Kanet

'This is a well-informed and stimulating analysis of Russia's fraught relationship with its near neighbours (the former Soviet states), tracing not only the new geopolitical tensions but also some of the fundamental policy issues, notably the politics of energy, the domestic drivers of Russian foreign policy, and the various security dilemmas faced by individual states. The volume brings together an impressive collection of authors, each one an expert in their respective fields. Taken together, this is a state of the art analysis of developments in post-Soviet Eurasia, and thus an important contribution to a region that is assuming ever-greater importance in world politics.'- Richard Sakwa, Professor of Russian and European Politics, University of Kent, UK'A timely collection of essays exploring the impact of nationalism, resource diplomacy, and national identity politics on Russia's policy toward its closest neighbors Medvedev's putative 'sphere of privileged interest.' An impressive achievement, Russia and its Near Neighbors will be of great interest to regional specialists and international relations practitioners alike.'- Charles E. Ziegler, Professor of Political Science, University of Louisville, USA'In an era of increasing Russian assertiveness in international affairs, this well-researched and thought-provoking volume is essential reading not only for scholars, but also perhaps even more importantly - for foreign policy practitioners. The Bear is back and we all need to take note!'- Leslie Holmes, Professor, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia