Russia's Response to Globalization: Europeanization, Americanization and Self-Determination

Abstract

While there is recognition that globalization affects societies in various ways and that local reactions to globalization may be unpredictable and unstable, the literature has not produced many focused analyses of the effects of globalization in particular countries. This article analyses Russias participation in the interconnected world and explores the possibility of Europeanization and Americanization in Russias domestic and foreign policies. The article also describes the trends in search for authentic Russian values and a model of development, a third path. It argues that Russias engagement with globalization is shaped by both endogenous factors, such as national interest and strategic calculations as well as external pressures and opportunities. In the domestic realm, Russia strives for political, economic, and social self-determination by constructing its own vision of strategic objectives and forms of cooperation in the world. Internationally, Russia continues to have a difficult relationship with the dominant international order, intertwining engagement with suspicion and openness with nationalism. Russias involvement with globalization fuses the proliferation of socio-economic reforms and global integration with only partial acceptance of neo-liberal forces as well as the assertion of its national spirit and sovereignty.