The Social Construction of Russia's Resurgence: Aspirations, Identity, and Security Interests

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments The inspiration for this book came from my first exposure to foreign policy makers twenty years ago—begun while I was working at the Soviet desk of the U.S. Department of State during my undergraduate years, and afterwards in my work in the former Soviet Union and the newly postcommunist countries of the former Soviet bloc. It was clear to me then that the dominant theoretical argument that I studied in university—that material power drove how countries behaved with each other—did not match up with what I witnessed among practitioners. It seemed, in contrast , that the government and political officials with whom I interacted were moved by forces other than material power and that ideas and identity had much to do with how they defined what their country was about and what it should do. As it turned out, this question—of what shapes a country’s national interests and its behavior—was sparking what would become a major debate in the field of international relations theory and would lead to the development of a new theoretical approach, that of constructivism. This book began as a continuation of that debate, with the modest intention of challenging the dominant explanations of what motivates states and of improving on some prominent constructivist work on the subject. That initial effort subsequently morphed into a more ambitious investigation of the interactions linking international relations theory, identity , and social psychology. This book is the result. It investigates the role of human aspirations and human reason in shaping how policymakers perceive, interpret, and construct the world around them. It combines insights from international relations and social identity theories to help us xi understand how Russian elites, relying on collective historical aspirations, define Russia’s proper place in the twenty-first century. The present book owes a great deal to my conversations with Jeffrey Knopf, who has been an unfailing friend and colleague, the person who showed me that I was onto a study of aspirations and their effect on identity and national interests. He went above and beyond the call of duty and friendship in commenting on more iterations of the entire manuscript than he cares to remember. Many of the improvements are owed to him, while all faults remain my responsibility. I would like to thank my family and my friends, particularly my parents , who have provided the support, labor, and love that have seen me through this project. A special thanks goes to Kari Johnstone for her un- flagging help in reading and commenting on the dissertation and to Rosemarie Purcell and Izumi Wakugawa for their research assistance and friendship. Thanks also to Cecelia Lynch, Beth Kier, and Wayne Sandholtz for their comments on various versions of the manuscript. My love to Alan, who lifted me up in the final stages of the project and helped bring it—and me—home. Most of all, I would like to thank Ernie Haas. Not only did he introduce me to the realm of international relations theory, he also opened up new ways of thinking about the world to me. His guidance, patience, friendship, outstanding pedagogy, and occasional none-too-gentle prodding allowed me to explore new worlds—and to develop the mark I would like to leave on this one. I owe him a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid. His intellectual mentorship is sorely missed, by me and by all those who knew him. xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...