On its periphery, Russia is surrounded by a new crescent of instability and conflict. In these circumstances, peacekeeping operations have become a primary tool of Russian security policy in the post-Soviet 'space'. These operations have raised significant controversy but have been subject to little systematic analysis. This major study offers an analytical framework for understanding Russian peace-keeping policy. It examines the evolution of Russian peacekeeping strategies towards the conflicts in Moldova, Georgia and Tajikistan, devoting particular attention to the internal and external factors influencing Russian strategies. Russian peacekeeping operations are a prism for understanding wider Russian security policy towards the so-called 'near abroad'. The Russian Federation has employed peacekeeping as a tool to advance its interests abroad. This instrumental use of peacekeeping highlights the fragility of Russian policy and points towards a long-term trend of Russian disengagement from the former Soviet Union.
Author(s): Dov Lynch
Year: 1999
Language: English
Pages: 280
Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 10
List of Abbreviations......Page 12
Introduction......Page 14
Summary of the Argument......Page 15
Russian ‘Peacekeeping’ and Suasion......Page 16
Domestic Factors Affecting Russian Strategy......Page 19
Bureaucratic Divisions and Civil–Military Relations......Page 22
Case Studies......Page 24
Conclusion......Page 28
PART I: ‘PEACEKEEPING’ IN RUSSIAN FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY......Page 30
The Evolution of International Peacekeeping......Page 32
The Use of Force Short of War......Page 37
‘Peacekeeping’ and Russian Armed Suasion......Page 39
Factors Influencing Russian Strategy......Page 43
Interacting Factors in Russian Foreign Policy......Page 50
The Evolution of Foreign Ministry Approaches......Page 58
Primakov’s Appointment......Page 71
3 Russian Military Approaches to the ‘Near Abroad’......Page 75
The Context of Russian Military Policy......Page 77
The Evolution of Military Thinking and Policy......Page 81
Shifts in Security Policy-making......Page 99
Discussions of the ‘Peacekeeping’ Tool......Page 104
Two Operational Patterns......Page 117
PART II: THE CASES OF MOLDOVA, GEORGIA AND TAJIKISTAN......Page 120
5 Russian Strategy towards Moldova......Page 122
Background Issues......Page 124
Evolution of Russian Strategy......Page 127
Prospects for Russian Strategy......Page 137
6 Russian Strategy towards the Abkhaz Conflict......Page 140
Background Issues......Page 141
Evolution of Russian Strategy......Page 144
Conclusions......Page 160
7 Russian Strategy towards Tajikistan......Page 163
Background Issues......Page 164
Evolution of Russian Strategy......Page 168
‘Peacekeeping’ Dilemmas......Page 181
Russian Foreign and Security Policy......Page 186
Russian Strategies of Suasion......Page 191
Prospects for Future Strategies of Armed Suasion......Page 197
Notes and References......Page 202
Select Bibliography......Page 250
B......Page 268
D......Page 269
G......Page 270
K......Page 271
M......Page 272
N......Page 273
P......Page 274
S......Page 275
T......Page 276
W......Page 277
Z......Page 278
