This thesis examines the role of Iraq in Russian foreign policy from the first Gulf crisis in 1990 to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. In particular, it identifies the main internal and external factors influencing Moscow's policy toward Baghdad, as well as Russia's objectives in this country. The aim of the thesis is twofold. On the one hand, it is to use the historical study of Russian-Iraqi relations to illustrate the evolution of Russian foreign policy throughout the 1990s, to provide an understanding of the mechanism of Russia's foreign policy formation and to highlight the interplay between domestic and foreign policies. On the other hand, the objective is to provide a new perspective of Russian policy in the Middle East by focusing on Russian-Iraqi relations as a means of drawing conclusions about the Moscow's Middle East policy in general. Despite a large volume of academic work, both in the West and in Russia, on Russian policy in the Middle East during the 1990s, no study focuses exclusively on Russian-Iraqi relations. The thesis therefore fills this knowledge gap by providing a detailed study of bilateral relations between the two countries. By identifying the variety of factors that influenced Russia's policy toward Iraq, the thesis hopes to provide a new perspective on Russia's relations with Iraq away from the simplistic explanations of Russia's pro-Iraqi stance, towards the complexities of Moscow's international and international policies. The thesis integrates events in Russian domestic politics and developments in the international fora, in particular the United Nations Security Council, focusing on the role of the United States, Britain and France in influencing and shaping Moscow's approaches to Iraq. It argues that Russia's Iraq policy is primarily a function of Russia's relations with the US and the only place where the Moscow's and Washington's interests are not simply at cross-purpose, but essentially in rigid opposition to each other.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:508111 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Akerman, Ella |
| Publisher | King's College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/old-friends-in-the-new-world--russia-and-iraq-from-gorbachev-to-putin-19902003(73dbded2-82e3-45ad-aaaa-3350ba512d27).html |
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