| ID | 164834 |
| Title Proper | Reluctant allies |
| Other Title Information | system-unit dynamics and China-Russia relations |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Portyakov, Vladimir ; Korolev, Alexander ; Alexander Korolev |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article attempts to advance the neoclassical realist framework by elaborating on the interaction between system-level and unit-level factors in the formation of states’ behavior. With an empirical focus on post-Cold War China–Russia relations, which represent the ambivalent combination of a consistently growing strategic entente and a simultaneous reluctance to form a full-fledged political-military alliance, this study establishes two major unit-level factors – differing economic models and negative historical memories – that create hurdles for alliance formation between the two countries. However, under greater systemic pressure from the US-led unipolarity, China’s and Russia’s state leaders have not only increased bilateral military-to-military cooperation but have begun to actively implement policies to deliberately transform, if not remove, the existing non-systemic hurdles. Therefore, the neoclassical realist framework can be understood and further tested as a dynamic interaction model in which the unit-level circumstances, while moderating the causal impact of the system, are themselves being transformed by the system via state policies, as is their impact on states’ foreign policy. |
| `In' analytical Note | International Relations Vol. 33, No.1; Mar 2019: p.40-66 |
| Journal Source | International Relations Vol: 33 No 1 |
| Key Words | Neoclassical Realism ; Foreign Policy ; China-Russia Relations |