| Summary: | 碩士 === 淡江大學 === 歐洲研究所碩士班 === 106 === This paper examines Russia’s policies toward the Middle East from the perspectives of neoclassical realism and geopolitics. It first explores the importance of the Middle East to Russia and then analyzes the balance and imbalance of interests in Russia’s Middle-Eastern policies in light of the domestic and external environmental factors investigated in neoclassical realism that affect Russian decision-makers in formulating their policies toward the Middle East.
Syria and Iran have long maintained friendly relations with Russia. Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, both domestic and external environmental factors have affected the policies of Russian leaders toward the Middle East. Such factors include tangled and complicated external environments, the spread of terrorism, and the severity of the social and economic conditions within Russia as a result of the sanction against it. This also includes Putin’s thinking in his decision-making, his boldness in disrupting the rules and order established by the West, and his pursuit of different balances and imbalances of power in different situations. The Putin government is not necessarily seeking to provoke a full-scale confrontation with the United States but rather to hit back at the comments of Western nations on Russia on the basis of Western democratic values and to align with other major nations where necessary. Therefore, it is the author’s view that Putin employs flexible means in his Middle East policies, and endeavors to seek the possibility of expanding Russia’s influence and power of discourse.
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