This particular work deals with the process of expansion by the North Atlantic Alliance in view of the theory of balance of power and the relationship between Russia and NATO. The author of the work draws on assumption that NATO's expansions, that have followed the end of the cold war, strengthen NATO's might, to which Russia must react to counter the growing power of the potential adversary. This work is divided into two main thematic parts. The first part regards the three waves of the expansion which followed the breakup of the Soviet Union (1999, 2004, and 2009); therein, the author analyzes NATO's strengthening on the military, political and geopolitical levels. The second part of the work is devoted to unveiling of Russia's potential counterbalancing steps. The Russian attempt to counterbalance the NATO's moves, of course, has also been analyzed within three frames - military, political and geopolitical. The analysis of the counterbalancing by Russia, as well as the strengthening of NATO is presented within the frame defined by five year periods. To facilitate the theoretical view, the power counterbalancing analyses has been divided into, so called, "Hard balancing" and "Soft balancing". Because the end of the bipolar conflict contributed to substantial changes in international political...

Thesis abstract: Geopolitical Rivalry in Central Asia and Turkmenistan's power as a weak state Charles University, Institute of International Studies, MAS programme 2019 Emma Welsink English Abstract Research on weak states and their position in the international system has been a widely discussed topic for decades, especially in relation to the Cold War bipolar system that revolved around Russia and the United States as great powers. Yet what is lacking is a contemporary analysis that concentrates on the current multipolar system in which the importance of economic alliances and power surpass military power, and how this affects weak states' foreign policy behavior and trade opportunities. This research therefore offers an empirical analysis on great power geopolitical competition between Russia and China over Turkmenistan's economic allegiance, specifically regarding its natural gas export, and seeks to explain how this geopolitical competition has affected Turkmenistan's foreign energy policy behavior as a weak state vis-á-vis these great powers. Additionally, this research seeks to examine how Turkmenistan has even instrumentalized this competition to further its national interest of energy export diversification. More specifically, this research shows that great power competition has played a...