The Middle East in Russia’s Foreign Policy, 1990–2020

Abstract

Abstract This chapter presents a genealogical account of Russia's view of the post–Cold War global order, with a particular emphasis on the factors determining its policy in the Middle East. Russia's decision in 2015 to conduct a military operation in Syria is a major outcome that my analysis seeks to explain by pointing out how Russian foreign and security policy thinking has evolved over the past few decades. The chapter argues that Moscow's outlook has always been West-centric, and that its policy in the region and elsewhere has been shaped by a number of factors, including the balance of forces on the domestic political arena. I do not directly intervene in the debate on the continuity and change in Russian foreign policy priorities, nor do I aim to provide a full overview of Moscow's policies in the Middle East. Rather, what I seek to highlight is how specific interpretations of major trends and events in global politics have resulted in policy choices, and how the relational dynamic between Russia and the West solidified the approach to global affairs that came to drive Russia's Middle East policy from around 2012–13 onwards.