Russia's Asia-Pacific policy in the post-cold war era

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2012

Öğrenci: TÜLAY ŞAVLI

Danışman: OKTAY FIRAT TANRISEVER

Özet:

The purpose of this study is to analyze and discuss Russia’s Asia-Pacific policy after the end of the Cold War by focusing on Moscow’s bilateral relations with the major regional countries and its overall multilateral approach and policies towards the Asia-Pacific region. Contrary to the views of scholars who claim that Russia has already emerged as a major power in the Asia-Pacific, the thesis argues that Russia’s strategy of becoming a great power in the Asia-Pacific Region has significant limitations stemming from its competitive and assertive policies that ignore the role of multilateralism and international cooperation. Although Russia has been actively engaged in the region at the bilateral level and through its participation in the regional organizations in the post-Cold war era, this region has its own particular dynamics which necessitate a greater level of regional economic integration and a liberal approach to multilateralism rather than a realist “power politics” approach. Russia’s policy of aligning itself with China militarily in the region has counterproductive consequences as it intensifies geopolitical competition in the region, and marginalizes Moscow further. The thesis is composed of six chapters. After the introduction, the second chapter examines origins of Russia’s presence in the Asia-Pacific Region. The following chapter discusses the sources of Russia’s increasing interest in the Region. The fourth chapter is concerned with Russia’s relations with main actors of the Asia-Pacific Region while the fifth chapter focuses on Russia’s involvement in theregional organizations. The last chapter is the conclusion.