Transformation of the Role of the West in Russian Foreign Policy After 2014: a Theoretical Analysis

The final paper has a purpose to investigate a change of the Western role in the Russian foreign policy agenda from 2014 till now in order to demonstrate a rapid shift from Western-centrism to a reverse independent path, using a number of proving cases. The research also illustrates Russian ‘pivot’ to the East and measures, which the West uses to prevent Russian self-sufficiency. This work argues that the importance and influence of the Western powers in the Russian global agenda have been increasingly diminishing due to the 2014 Ukrainian crisis and other additional reasons, but preconditions were visible long before. In order to analyze Russia-West relations after 2014, qualitative and quantitative approaches will be applied as well as a wide analysis of primary and secondary sources. Besides, holistic method will be useful to examine the issue and provide a full description of the changes. Case studies, mixed methods and content analysis will also assist investigating the issue and providing a theoretical review. The theoretical analysis of the problem this study rises is extremely relevant nowadays since it describes modern realities and inter-state approaches between two major powers. Though a precise analysis of actions, further development of the relations may be predicted with a trustful forecast. Furthermore, there is a lack of sources and publications on this topic due to its novelty and unpredictability. For this reason, this thesis provides a relevant explanation of the ‘clash’ after Russian attempts to unite.