Russia, the Rent-Seeking Revisionist

• Main Author: Markowitz, Jonathan N.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University Press 2020
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190078249.003.0005

Chapter 5 focuses on how Russia, the most land-oriented Arctic littoral state, responded to the shock. This chapter analyzes how Russia’s political economy has influenced its foreign policy preferences. Specifically, this chapter illuminates how Russia’s economy and ruling elites came to depend on income from natural resources. This dependence drove Russia’s rulers to have a stronger interest in securing control over resource-rich territory, which, in turn, explains why they dramatically increased their Arctic military presence following the shock. The chapter chronicles Russia’s dual-track policy of simultaneously pursuing its claims through international institutions and gunboat diplomacy. These findings reveal that Russia invested more in increasing its Arctic military activity and force structure than any other Arctic state. This chapter affirms the book’s core theoretical prediction: the more economically dependent states are on natural resources, the stronger their interest in securing control over additional resources.