Russia's European Agenda and The Baltic States - Defence ...

RUSSIA’S EUROPEAN AGENDA AND THE BALTIC STATES
measuring the key aspects of the Putin administration’s performance against that of
Yeltsin. 22 The aim is to evaluate changes in Russia’s foreign and security policies,
her perceptions of Europe and the Baltics, and to reveal trends how Russia’s policy
may develop in the years to come. Comparative analysis is also applied to assess the
evolution of Baltic policies.
The author maintains that despite some differences in the current conditions of
the Baltic States’ development (e.g. ethnic composition, treatment of their minorities,
the Kaliningrad factor), they have much more in common: their geo-strategic position
and threat perception, their joint past as part of the Soviet Union, similar political
agendas, comparable problems in constructing security policies, and the outside view
of the Baltic States as a group. Therefore the author tends to rely more on a themebased
layout than a case-based approach.
To incorporate the full array of factors affecting complex Russo-Baltic policies,
an interactive approach based on the interplay between the international, domestic
and individual levels has been used. 23 The international systemic approach argues
that foreign policy outcomes result solely from a changing external environment
but not from a domestic change. The domestic political level (or state level) defines
foreign policy as the result of ‘domestic political manoeuvring’. 24 This level of analysis
examines the operational environment – the political context and mechanisms – for
policy making. The individual level of analysis focuses on the actions and behaviour
of individual policy makers to explain how they define purposes, choose among
causes of action and utilise national capabilities to achieve objectives in the name of
the state.
Taken separately, the importance of these levels of analysis for Russian and
Baltic foreign policies is different. This is due to their power asymmetry: the larger
and more powerful a state, the greater its freedom of action; while the choice for
small states is more limited. 25 Since the Baltic countries (as small states) are more
preoccupied with survival than Russia (a great power), the international system
will be the most relevant level of analysis in explaining their foreign policy choices.
Baltic policies reflect attentiveness to the constraints of the international environment,
meanwhile Russia is supposed to be less vulnerable to external developments, and
thus has more options for action. This makes her foreign policy formation ‘more
susceptible to domestic political influences’. 26
Review of the Study’s Sources
In every aspect of international relations, Russia is a central research subject. In that
sense, it is important for a researcher not to get lost among a great variety of sources.
In this study the author refers to two types of sources: primary and secondary sources.
Primary sources include interview data (face-to-face interviews with Russian policy
experts), conference material, document analysis, speeches, statements, lectures, as
well as personal observation and expertise. Secondary sources comprise different
types of literature: books and monographs, research papers, academic journals,
current affairs magazines, internet sites, and other sources. All these sources provide
a comprehensive account of the key developments of Russian domestic and foreign
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