Is Russia's Foreign Policy That of a Corporatist-Kleptocratic Regime?

Abstract

Is Russian foreign policy the foreign policy of a struggling democratic, hybrid, semi-authoritarian, rentier, or corporatist-kleptocratic state? Russia possesses all the trappings of a state with a long-established set of institutions representing state interests abroad, but it also has a set of elites whose purpose is both to represent and promote state interests abroad and to enrich themselves, very often at the state's expense. While Russian foreign policy continues to promote Russian national interests abroad, this article examines the impact of these new kinds of elite rules on Russia and states where corrupt Russian elites find willing partners. Research in the Wikileaks documents is used to study this topic.