Russian threat through the prism of British competitive liberalism
Název práce v češtině: | Ruská hrozba prizmatem britského soutěživého liberalismu |
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Název v anglickém jazyce: | Russian threat through the prism of British competitive liberalism |
Klíčová slova: | Spojené království, Rusko, vyvažování, geopolitika |
Klíčová slova anglicky: | United Kingdom, Russia, counterbalancing, geopolitics |
Akademický rok vypsání: | 2021/2022 |
Typ práce: | diplomová práce |
Jazyk práce: | angličtina |
Ústav: | Katedra politologie (23-KP) |
Vedoucí / školitel: | doc. Martin Riegl, Ph.D. |
Řešitel: | skrytý![]() |
Datum přihlášení: | 05.07.2022 |
Datum zadání: | 05.07.2022 |
Datum a čas obhajoby: | 20.09.2023 07:00 |
Místo konání obhajoby: | Jinonice - U Kříže 8, Praha 5 |
Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: | 06.06.2023 |
Datum proběhlé obhajoby: | 20.09.2023 |
Oponenti: | prof. PhDr. RNDr. Nikola Hynek, Ph.D., M.A. |
Zásady pro vypracování |
Both Great Britain and Russia have been major international players ever since the late Middles Ages. Gradually, both powers expanded their reach to an extent of becoming the two largest empires in the world by the middle of the 19th century . The natural clash of the two revealed itself in diplomatic, armed, and economic confrontation taking place on an immense theatre stretching from the Baltics through the Pamir mountains, to the Pacific. The two milestones of this contest were the so-called “Great Game” for the control of Central and South Asia and the Crimean War for, among other factors, the influence over the Turkish Straits. In order to contain the ever-expanding Russian Empire, the British employed a comprehensive strategy consisting of various soft and hard means .
Later in the 20th century, both powers were forced to go down the painful path of imperial deconstruction. Contrary to the UK, which gave up any attempts to forcefully revive its territorial heritage, the Kremlin did not make peace with the objective loss of its geopolitical capital and is now overtly resolute to at least partially win back what had been lost first in 1917 and once more in 1991, in terms of both territories and status. Given the British history of a “European balancer” , it is not surprising that the UK decided to holistically counter and deter Russian revanchism that is deemed to undermine the security of the Kingdom, its allies, and partners. Another reason for Russia to be one of the main adversaries of the British foreign policy is the fact that the Kremlin’s posture is diametrically opposed to core goals manifested in the UK’s grand strategy named ‘Global Britain’. First of all, it concerns maintaining liberal international order based on democratic societies and open economies which Russia attempts to review and sabotage . To say the least, in the latest pivotal document pertaining to the “Global Britain” vision, Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development, and Foreign Policy, Russia is referred to as ‘the most acute direct threat to the UK’ . Ever since late 2016, when the then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson first introduced the strategy , Russia has been given specific attention in all further defining foreign policy documents of London. This clash of interests and worldviews is what adds to the significance of the contemporary relationship between the two states. However, the respective academic intervention in the current manifestations of the UK’s policy against the ever-growing Russian threat has been insufficient given the role of this confrontation in defining the present and future of the existing international system. This thesis aims to fill in this gap and add to the academic literature on the topics of the UK’s contemporary foreign policy and bilateral relationship with Russia. Research Questions The project will address the following questions within the wider theme of the study: 1) What is the strategic rationale behind the United Kingdom’s post-Brexit policy towards Russia? 2) How has the UK’s approach towards Russia manifested itself in political, economic, and cultural dimensions? 3) What are the intermediate results of this policy for the UK, Russia, and other actors involved in the strife as per the “Global Britain” vision? 4) What are the feasible scenarios of interaction between the United Kingdom and Russia in the framework of the “Global Britain” vision in the future until late 2024? Methodology This thesis is entirely a qualitative research inquiry that follows the inductive logic of inference. The empirical-descriptive methodology will be applied through the framework of an intrinsic case study of the United Kingdom’s interactions with the Russian Federation from the second half of 2016 to the present day. The primary data collection method is document analysis, namely analysis of governmental policy documents, including doctrines, briefs, strategies, reports, transcripts of Parliament debates, embassy statements, etc. The base layer is the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy , Integrated Operating Concept , and MoD Strategy . Other sources will include academic literature on the topic, bilateral and multilateral agreements, and commercial treaties. The basic academic historical \ overview will be David Owen’s book on the last two hundred years of British-Russian relations. The historical method of data analysis will be applied to answer RQs 1, 2, and 3 while the scenario-building approach will be utilized to answer RQ 4. Scope and Theoretical Framework The project will cover, for the most part, events and documents from late 2016 through the present day since the evident turn in the UK’s foreign posture after formally setting the course for leaving the EU and the invention of the ‘Global Britain’ strategy. RQ’s 4 forecast scope is limited by the end of the current cadency of Vladimir Putin, during which it is unlikely that Russia will change its course for confrontation. Speaking of geographical breadth, although the author intends to explore all relevant states and regions the project will naturally focus mostly on competition in North Eurasia. Among theoretical IR concepts, the balance of powers seems to be the most applicable here, given the well-known historic profile of the UK as a European ‘balancer’ and Britain’s natural strive to counter the rising ambitions of Russia. |
Seznam odborné literatury |
Brzezinski, Zbigniew. The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives. 2nd ed. New York, USA: Basic Books, 2016.
Cabinet Office, and Boris Johnson, Global Britain in a Competitive Age: The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy § (2021). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-britain-in-a-competitive-age-the-integrated-review-of-security-defence-development-and-foreign-policy. Director Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, and Nicholas Carter, Integrated Operating Concept § (2020). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-integrated-operating-concept-2025. Johnson, Boris. “Global Britain: UK Foreign Policy in the Era of Brexit.” Chatham House. Speech, December 2, 2016. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/events/special/2016-12-02-Boris-Johnson.pdf. Lambert, Andrew D. The Crimean War: British Grand Strategy against Russia, 1853-56. 2nd ed. Farnham; Burlington, England; USA: Ashgate Publishing, 2011. Lauer, Johann. “Methodology and Political Science: The Discipline Needs Three Fundamentally Different Methodological Traditions.” SN Social Sciences 1, no. 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-020-00034-0. Mills, Albert J., Gabrielle Durepos, and Elden Wiebe. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010. Ministry of Defence, and Ben Wallace, Defence in a competitive age § (2021). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-in-a-competitive-age. Owen, David. Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma: Two Hundred Years of British-Russian Relations. London, United Kingdom: Haus Publishing, 2021. Taagepera, Rein. “Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia.” International Studies Quarterly 41, no. 3 (1997): 475–504. https://doi.org/10.1111/0020-8833.00053. |
Předběžná náplň práce |
Introduction. The historical backdrop of relations and status of the UK and Russia. Rise of tensions
‘Global Britain’ as a grand strategy. Russia’s place in it. The UK’s actions within NATO. The Arctics, the Baltics, Poland, and South-West Europe The UK’s strategy in the Caucasus. Activities in Azerbaidjan and Turkey The UK’s actions in Central Asia The UK’s lead in the war against Ukraine Forecasts and discussion |
Předběžná náplň práce v anglickém jazyce |
Introduction. The historical backdrop of relations and status of the UK and Russia. Rise of tensions
‘Global Britain’ as a grand strategy. Russia’s place in it. The UK’s actions within NATO. The Arctics, the Baltics, Poland, and South-West Europe The UK’s strategy in the Caucasus. Activities in Azerbaidjan and Turkey The UK’s actions in Central Asia The UK’s lead in the war against Ukraine Forecasts and discussion |