| Since 1991, international relations specialists have identified different domestic and international interest groups and institutions as significant sources of ideas in post-Soviet Russian foreign policy. A gap remains in the research, however, regarding the role of transnational networks. This dissertation addresses this gap by testing the hypothesis that mobilized ethnic transnational networks helped shape the Russian foreign policy outlook in 1991--1994. It argues that an examination of the activities of these networks can help us better understand what shifted Russian foreign policy from its pro-Western orientation to a reassertion of dominance in the post-Soviet countries of the "near abroad."; The dissertation tests this hypothesis using empirical evidence to link national mobilization and conflicts in the South Caucasus to Russian foreign policy. It shows how mobilized ethnic transnational policy networks attempted, with varying success, to shape Russian foreign policy outlook in ways benefiting their respective states. Before the disintegration of the Soviet Union, these policy networks mobilized and focused on nationality policies as domestic Soviet policy issues. After 1991, the preoccupation of network members shifted to Russia's foreign policy towards the new states in the region.; The dissertation examines the timing of events in relation to the activities of the transnational policy networks and identifies the characteristics and circumstances contributing to their success or failure in influencing Russian foreign policy. It concludes that such networks are likelier to succeed when members share a unifying ideology and sense of identity, have access to key decision makers in different branches of government, and when governing elites have not yet reached consensus and there are still opportunities to influence them.; Since the research problem consisted of identifying a new factor in Russian foreign policy rather than measuring the influence of a recognized phenomenon, the qualitative case study method was selected. It makes use of published articles, speeches, and memoirs by policy experts and policy makers, as well as government foreign policy documents. The study should contribute to a better understanding of the role of transnational policy networks as sources of ideas in Russian foreign policy. |
