AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL FOR CHANGE IN RUSSIA’S DOMESTIC SYSTEM AND ITS FOREIGN POLICY: LESSONS ON THE COLD WAR END

Abstract

The Cold War is not an event, it seems, but a process that continues nowadays, too. In this scholarly article, we defend the thesis that the asymmetric end of the Cold War left a lasting memory on Russia‘s foreign policy. In developing this thesis, we proceed as follows: firstly, we will outline the realist counterargument to our thesis which suggests that no lessons can be learned from the ending of the Cold War because the bipolar struggle itself and the period after were continuations of the constant struggle for power between states in which historical narratives and ideas have no part to play. Secondly, building on the existing constructivist perspective, we will show that understanding the different ideational frameworks that developed in Washington and Moscow are paramount to understanding the deterioration of Russia’s relations with the West in the past decade. Thirdly, we will show how the narratives that developed within Russia about the ending of the Cold War and Russia’s place in the world are critical to understanding the potential for change in the domestic system.