Russian Foreign Policy

(POLISCI 255 Honors)

Spring 2019
Course Information Tu 5:30-6:45pm, January 25 – May 4, 2022
Location TK

Instructor Information Paul Musgrave

musgrave@umass.edu
Thompson Hall 504

Office Hours TK, Thompson Hall 504, or by appointment

Course Overview...............................................................................................2
A Note on the Syllabus.............................................................................................2
Course Logistics................................................................................................3
Classroom Rules.......................................................................................................3
Electronic Class Recordings Policy.............................................................................3
Professor’s Office Hours............................................................................................3
Course Assessments and Grading......................................................................4
Assignments.............................................................................................................4
Grade Appeals..........................................................................................................4
Extra Credit...............................................................................................................4
Course Readings...............................................................................................5
SPRING 2022 RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY PROFESSOR MUSGRAVE

Course Overview

T his course supplements POLSCI 255, American Foreign Policy.

Besides the fact that it covers Russia instead of the United States,
it differs in three respects from the main course:
 First, because it is much smaller, it will be conducted in a much
more interactive and discussion-driven fashion.
 Second, because it is an Honors course, I have higher
expectations and a presumption that you can handle more
independent work.
 Third, it will deal in much more detail with theories about how
countries and people are socialized into the international realm.
The last difference is the most profound. It arises not because I think
that game-theoretic methods have nothing to offer us in understanding
the sources of Russian foreign-policy conduct. Far from it. Rather, it
is because the main course will already be introducing formal theory
and so we can go deeper, faster, into other modes of inquiry here.
Separate, since I assume that you know nothing or next to nothing
about Russian history, there’s a useful overlap between texts that
introduce Russian context and those that discuss socialization.
The highlight of this course will be your final paper. Your assignment
will be straightforward, so let me give it to you now. You will write
about 2500 to 3000 words (that’s 10 to 12 pages of standard double-
spaced Times New Roman text) about something to do with Russian
foreign policy. You will develop a topic in cooperation with me and
subject to my approval. Over the course of the semester, you will
develop your project, find sources, and refine your paper. You will
present what you’ve learned in capsule form at a dinner or luncheon at
the end of the term; we will schedule that soon. The paper will be due
the final day of the final examination week.

A Note on the Syllabus

I do not expect to make major changes to the syllabus after the course
begins, but if any amendments become necessary, I will notify you in
a timely manner. This course deals with current events, however, so
additional readings may appear on short notice.
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Course Logistics
Classroom Rules
The class will begin on time. Sometimes, I will lecture for a little bit,
but we will usually begin with a recap of the week’s readings and then
move into a discussion of them. Please be prepared to engage in a
discussion and respect your peers’ opinions as you would have your
own respected.

Electronic Class Recordings Policy

Students are permitted to electronically record class using audio and
video recorders for personal use only. These may not be distributed or
sold to other persons.

Professor’s Office Hours

You should always feel free to drop by my posted office hours. You
should also feel comfortable contacting me to schedule meetings at
other times. The fastest way to do this is via my online scheduling
service: calendly.com/profmusgrave. Please note, however, that I may
be unable to meet with you outside of office hours without an
appointment. You can also email me at musgrave@umass.edu. I try to
respond to all email within 24 “business” hours (that is, I may not
reply to an email on a Friday evening or a Saturday until Monday).

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Course Assessments and Grading

Assignments
Due dates for assignments are listed with the readings. Assignment
due dates may shift slightly, but you will be told about this in advance.
Weekly Participation (40 percent of semester grade)
For each meeting with assigned readings, you will generate a 200-300
word response based on the main themes in each reading. You should
do this every week. That said, I understand that not every week’s
topics will spark joy equally, so you will have one grace week where
you can skip. We will use Moodle’s discussion forum to manage this.
Course participation will also include your participation in the
seminar discussions. Be prepared, eager, and smart.
Final Project Presentation (10 percent of semester grade)
You will prepare a 5- to 7-minute presentation for other students and
potentially invited guests about what you have learned in the course of
your final project.
Final Paper (50 percent of semester grade)
As stated on the first page, your final paper will be 2500-3000 words.
You will write this in stages. By February TK, you will prepare a 500-
600 word proposal laying out the topic and scope. By March TK, you
will present a revised 600-800 word proposal, including a summary of
proposed resources to be drawn on for that paper. By April TK, you
will give me an update, including how you have drawn on library
resources to find high-quality sources for your paper and what
problems you are facing in completing it.

Grade Appeals
You may appeal any grade, but except in case of outright error (which
does happen, albeit rarely) you should know that I will treat these
discussions more as a teachable moment for you to explain your grade
more fully than as an actual appeal.

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Extra Credit
There is no extra credit.

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Course Readings
I’ve listed articles and readings in the order that I think you should
read them. Please note that optional/recommended readings are just
that: recommended! They’re not required!

January 25 (Tuesday)
Introducing Russia and the Course
 Trenin, Dmitri. 2016. “Russia’s Post-Soviet Journey.” Foreign
Affairs.
 Paul Musgrave. 2019. “Mikhail Gorbachev’s Pizza Hut
Thanksgiving Miracle.” Foreign Policy, November 28.

February 1 (Tuesday):
Leaders
 Frontline, “Putin’s Revenge”, Part One
 Topol, Sarah. 2019. “What Does Putin Really Want?” The New
York Times Magazine 25 June 2019.
 Gais, Hannah. 2017. “Who’s Afraid of the Russian Soul?” The
Baffler
 Celeste A. Wallender, “How the Putin Regime Really Works,”
Journal of Democracy 2021 32(3): 178-83.
 Götz, Elias. 2017. “Putin, the state, and war: The causes of
Russia’s near abroad assertion revisited.” International Studies
Review, 19(2), 228-253.

February 8 (Tuesday):
Interests and Bureaucracy
 CRS, “Russia: Foreign Policy and U.S. Relations”, section on
“Foreign Policymaking Institutions and Processes”, pp 2-7
 Kotkin, Stephen. “Russia’s Perpetual Geopolitics.” Foreign
Affairs May/June 2016.
 Gunitsky and Tsygankov, “The Wilsonian Bias in the Study of
Russian Foreign Policy”, Problems of Post-Communism 2018

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 Bobo Lo, “The Domestic Context of Russian Foreign Policy”

from Russia and the New World Disorder (2016)

February 15 (Tuesday):
Identity
 Zevelev, Igor. “Russian National Identity and Foreign Policy.”
CSIS
 Clunan, Anne L. 2014. “Historical aspirations and the domestic
politics of Russia’s pursuit of international status.” Communist
and Post-Communist Studies.
 Gunitsky, Seva. “One Word to Improve U.S. Russia Policy.”
The New Republic 27 April 2018.

February 22 (Tuesday):
NO CLASS, MONDAY SCHEDULE

March 1 (Tuesday):
The Near Abroad
 Dubrov, Arkady. 2018. “Reflecting on a Quarter Century of
Russia’s Relations with Central Asia.” U.S.-Russia Insight.
 Belarus TK
 CRS, “Russia: Foreign Policy and U.S. Relations”, section on
“Foreign Relations”, pp 7-13
 Laurence Broers, “Requiem for the Unipolar Moment in
Nagorny Karabakh”, Current History (2021) 120 (828): 255-
261
 Petru Negura, “Moldova’s Thirty-Year Search for
Independence,” Current History (2021) 120 (828)

March 8 (Tuesday):
The United States
 CRS, “Russia: Foreign Policy and U.S. Relations”, sections on
“U.S.-Russia Relations” and “Selected Issues in U.S.-Russia
Relations”, pp. 45-58

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 Angela Stent, “The impact of September 11 on U.S.-Russian

Relations,” Brookings Institution, September 8, 2021
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-
chaos/2021/09/08/the-impact-of-september-11-on-us-russian-
relations/
 Westad, Odd Arne. 2018. “Has a New Cold War Really
Begun?” Foreign Affairs
 Fiona Hill, “The Kremlin’s Strange Victory”, Foreign Affairs
November/December 2021
 Musgrave, Paul. “The Doomed Voyage of Pepsi’s Soviet
Navy.” Foreign Policy 2021
 OPTIONAL: Sokolov, Boris, Ronald F. Inglehard, Eduard
Ponarin, Irina Vartanova, and William Zimmerman. 2018.
“Disillusionment and Anti-Americanism in Russia: From Pro-
American to Anti-American Attitudes, 1993-2009.”
International Studies Quarterly.

March 15 (Tuesday):
NO CLASS SPRING BREAK

March 22 (Tuesday):
The People’s Republic of China
 Angela Stent, “Russia and China: Axis of revisionists?” ,
February 2020 Brookings Report
 More TK

March 29 (Tuesday):
Europe
 V.V. Putin, “Munich Speech,” 2007
 Pezard et al, European Relations with Russia: Threat
Perceptions, Responses, and Strategies in the Wake of the
Ukrainian Crisis, RAND, Chapters 1, 2, and 4

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April 5 (Tuesday):
Middle East and TK
 Krasna, Joshua. 2018. “Moscow on the Mediterranean: Russia
and Israel’s Relationship.” Foreign Policy Research Institute.
 Iran TK
 Syria TK
 TK

April 12 (Tuesday):
The Military and Hard Power
 CRS, “Russia: Foreign Policy and U.S. Relations”, section on
“Use of Force and Military Power”, pp 15-33
 Kofman et al, “Russian Military Strategy: Core Tenets and
Operational Concepts,” CAN Report August 2021, Executive
Summary and section on “Russian Military Strategy” and
“Conclusion”
 Michael Kofman and Richard Connolly, “Why Russian Military
Expenditure is Much Higher than Commonly Understood”, in
War on the Rocks December 16, 2019
https://warontherocks.com/2019/12/why-russian-military-
expenditure-is-much-higher-than-commonly-understood-as-is-
chinas/
 OPTIONAL:
o Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda, “Russia nuclear
weapons 2021,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
o Oliker, Olga. 2018. “Moscow’s Nuclear Enigma:
What is Russia’s Arsenal Really For?” Foreign Affairs
o Kristin Ven Bruusgard, “Russian nuclear strategy and
conventional inferiority, in Journal of Strategic
Studies 2020

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April 19 (Tuesday):
Cyber and Influence
 Natalia Antonova, “Russian Mercenaries in Africa Aren’t Just
There for the Money, Foreign Policy, July 9, 2021
 Kimberly Marten, “Where’s Wagner? The All-New Exploits of
Russia’s Private Military Company”, PONARS Eurasia
September 15, 2020 https://www.ponarseurasia.org/where-s-
wagner-the-all-new-exploits-of-russia-s-private-military-
company/
 At least one of:
o Keir Giles, “Russian information warfare: Construct
and purpose”, from The World Information War
(Routledge, 2021)
o David Sanger, “Putin’s Petri Dish” from The Perfect
Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age
o Andy Greenberg, “How an Entire Nation Became
Russia’s Test Lab for Cyberwar” Wired
o Levin, “The (In)famous Election: Analyzing the
Russian Intervention in the 2016 U.S. Elections”,
from Meddling in the Ballot Box
 OPTIONAL: Dmitry Adamsky, “From Moscow with coercion:
Russian deterrence theory and strategic culture,” Journal of
Strategic Studies 2017

April 26 (Tuesday):
Religion, Gender, and Sexuality
 Sperling, Valerie. 2015. “The Purpose of Putin’s Machismo.”
Current History
 Sohl, Ben. 2021. “Putin’s Instrumentalization of LGBTQ+
Prejudice”. https://inkstickmedia.com/putins-
instrumentalization-of-lgbtq-prejudice/
 Blitt, Robert. “Religious Soft Power in Russian Foreign Policy:
Constitutional Change and the Russian Orthodox Church.”
Brookings Institution May 2021.

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 Other readings TK

May 3 (Tuesday):
Climate and Energy
 Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, “Could Russia Embrace an Energy
Transition?”, Current History 2020 119 (819)
 Thane Gustafson, “The Future of Russia as an Energy
Superpower”,
https://harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2017/11/future-
of-russia-as-energy-superpower-thane-gustafson.html, May
2017
 Other Readings TK

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