Author

Beom-Shik Shin received his B.A. and M.A. in international relations from Seoul National University and his Ph.D. in political science from Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). He is currently a professor in the department of international relations at Seoul National University and general affairs director of the Korean Association of Slavic Studies (KASS). His recent works include: 21st Century Challenges and International Relations for Eurasia (in Korean); Russia’s Choice: Transition to the Post-Soviet System and Changes in the State, Market and Society (in Korean); Russian Nonproliferation Policy and the Korean Peninsula (co-authored).

Abstract  

To be a global leader once again in a rapidly changing international environment, Russia has strived to establish a complex multi-level alliance/partnership network. This paper aims to examine how Russia’s alliance/partnership strategy has developed and what can be expected. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been three major phases in Russia’s security strategy. First, President Yeltsin tried to preserve Moscow’s dwindling influence against the chaos due to the regime transformation. Second, under President Putin’s practical multi-vector foreign policy, the Kremlin began to regain its influence. Third, Russia tried to check America’s unilateralism by strengthening its partnership with China. However, Russia’s alliance/partnership strategy is not the same in every region. For the U.S. and Europe, or its space of justification, Moscow seeks to develop “Western + 1(Russia)” bilateral relations through gradual cooperation. In the space of influence, while trying to maintain its dominance by securing bilateral, micro-regional, and multilateral alliance/partnership relations with former Soviet states, the Kremlin is establishing a flexible quasi-alliance model focusing on strategic partnerships with Beijing. The Asia-Pacific region is the space of reward where Russia is strengthening its new assets to be a global leader. Lastly, Russia sees the rest of the world as the space of potentiality, and tries to build up future assets for its interests. Yet Moscow’s security strategy has major obstacles such as NATO’s enlargement, energy security, and its own weak soft power. To intensify its smart power, Russia needs to discover its role as a global energy middleman, and participate more actively in regional and global multilateral institutions.

The full text in Korean is available here