The Making of Russian Foreign Policy: Lines of (Dis)continuity in a Process of Affirmation.

This paper looks at the dynamics underlying Russian foreign policy, with the aim of identifying drivers, strategies and goals in a process embedded in complexity. The domestic political setting and its inter-play with the international context are fundamental elements in the analysis of the projection of Russian power and influence. In a constant search for balance between the national interest, international compromises and the bargaining/concessions duality, Russia has been pursuing a policy of affirmation, both in regional and international terms. However, this has been a course where lines of (dis)continuity render it fragile contours not always easy to grasp. Underlining this course are issues about Russian identity and how this plays both at the domestic level and in external policy dealings. However, an increasing assertive tone is noticeable. Whether this is still an expression of a loss of empire not yet overcome or the result of powerful internal developments is here analyzed. This paper aims, thus, to analyze the Russian foreign policy making shedding light over lines of continuity and discontinuity in this continuous, though not linear, search for affirmation. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]