Russian-European Relations in the Balkans and Black Sea Region

This book provides a detailed analysis of Russia’s ‘great power identity’ and the role of Europe in forming this identity. ‘Great power identity’ implies an expansionist foreign policy, and yet this does not explain all the complexities of the Russian state. For instance, it cannot explain why Russia decided to take over Crimea, but provided only limited support to break-away regions in Eastern Ukraine. Moreover, if Russia is in geo-economic competition with Europe, why has no serious conflict erupted between Moscow and other post-Soviet states which developed closer ties with the EU? Finally, why does Putin maintain relationships with the European countries that imposed tough economic sanctions on Russia? Vsevolod Samokhvalov provides a more nuanced understanding of Russia’s great power identity by drawing on his experience in regional diplomacy and research and applying a constructivist methodology. The book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, in particular Russian-European relations, Russian foreign policy and Russian studies.

Vsevolod Samokhvalov helps us understand contemporary Russian relations with Europe and the world by exploring how Soviet and current Russian foreign policy elites understand their past. In particular, Soviet and Russian great power identity has been forged in contact and conflict with the frontier sweeping from the Black Sea to the Balkans, as imagined in historical fiction and universally read history textbooks. Samokhvalov opens the readers' eyes to an entirely new dimension of Russian foreign policy and its origins.

–  Professor Ted Hopf , National University of Singapore