Russia in a Contested International Order: The Foundations and Frameworks of Moscow's International Thought

About

Speaker: Nicole Grajewski, Research Fellow, International Security Program

Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and embattlement with the West has signified the fundamental divergences in Moscow's approaches to international order. Rather than an aberration, present-day Russian foreign policy has been consistent with the persistent factors in Moscow's international thought. This presentation offers a framework for interpreting Russian foreign policy thinking and Moscow's approaches to the maintenance and transformation of international order.

What do Russian foreign policy ideas and debates reveal about Russian international practices and its understandings of international order more broadly? 

This research contributes to existing research on the plurality of visions of international order, strengthened by extensive research grounded in area studies. It seeks to provide a discernible framework to interpret Russian international conduct by relying on a variety of Russian primary sources. By doing so, it contextualizes the conceptual basis and broader theoretical application of Russian ideas and debates to better understand Russia's view of the institutions and practices that sustain, maintain, and transform international order. The seminar will situate Moscow's approaches to international order within the case of Russia’s intervention in Syria, drawing on primary sources and interviews with Russian elites about the drivers of Russian conduct.

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAtdeqoqzsoG9FhW7bqUJ8vFPuWvEGbHjKB

Contact

For more information, email the International Security Program Assistant at susan_lynch@harvard.edu.