The Nato-Russia Council and Changes in Russia's Policy
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THE NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL AND CHANGES IN RUSSIA’S POLICY TOWARDS NATO A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY BEISHENBEK TOKTOGULOV IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SEPTEMBER 2015 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. Oktay F. Tanrısever Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık (METU,IR) Prof. Dr. Oktay F. Tanrısever (METU,IR) Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı (METU,IR) Prof. Dr. Fırat Purtaş (GU,IR) Assist. Prof. Dr. Taylan Özgür Kaya (NEU,IR) ii PLAGIARISM I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Beishenbek Toktogulov Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL AND CHANGES IN RUSSIA’S POLICY TOWARDS NATO Toktogulov, Beishenbek Ph.D., Department of International Relations Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Oktay F. Tanrısever September 2015, 298 pages The objective of this thesis is to explain the changes in Russia’s policy towards NATO after the creation of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) in 2002. It argues that contrary to the liberal view which assumes that the NRC presents an example of international cooperation through institutions, the NRC has been functioning in accordance with power politics or concerns of Russia and the security priorities of NATO. Russian military action in Georgia and its military intervention in Ukraine followed by its annexation of Crimea resulted in the suspension of the NRC. Although the NRC had been a forum where a lot of practical activities initiated and developed, this did not lead to a broader strategic or political rapprochement between Russia and NATO. Therefore, both the NRC and Russia’s relations with NATO could be explained by political realist approach to international relations. This thesis is composed of seven main chapters, introduction and conclusion. Chapter 2 develops the theoretical framework of the study. Chapter 3 examines Russia-NATO relations between 1991 and 2002. Chapter 4 and 5 discuss the creation of the NRC and the role of NRC cooperation in Russia-NATO relations respectively. Chapter 6 and 7 examine the changes in Russia’s policy towards NATO between 2002 and 2014. Before iv the concluding chapter, chapter 8 discusses the most recent Ukraine crisis and its impact on Russia-NATO relations. Keywords: NATO-Russia Council (NRC), Cooperation, Russia-NATO relations, liberalism, realism v ÖZ NATO-RUSYA KONSEYİ VE RUSYA’NIN NATO’YA YÖNELİK POLİTİKASINDAKİ DEĞİŞİMLER Toktogulov, Beyşenbek Doktora, Uluslararası İlişkiler Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Oktay F. Tanrısever Eylül 2015, 298 sayfa Bu çalışmanın amacı 2002 yılında NATO-Rusya Konseyi (NRK) kurulduktan sonra Rusya’nın NATO’ya yönelik politikalarındaki değişimleri incelemektir. Bu çalışma NRK’nin kurumlar aracılığıyla uluslararası işbirliğinin sağlanmasının bir örneği olduğunu savunan liberal görüşe karşı olarak Konsey’in Rusya’nın güç siyaseti veya kaygıları doğrultusunda ve NATO’nun güvenlik önceliklerine göre işlevini yerine getirdiğini savunmaktadır. Rusya’nın Gürcistan’daki askeri harekâtı ve Ukrayna’daki askeri müdahalesini takip eden Kırım’ı ilhakı, Konsey kapsamındaki faaliyetlerin askıya alınmasıyla sonuçlanmıştır. NRK kapsamında birçok pratik faaliyet başlatılmış ve geliştirilmiş olmasına rağmen bu durum Rusya ve NATO arasında daha kapsamlı bir stratejik veya siyasi yakınlaşmanın oluşmasına yol açmamıştır. Dolayısıyla, hem NRK hem de Rusya’nın NATO ile olan ilişkileri siyasal realist uluslararası ilişkiler yaklaşımı ile açıklanabilir. Bu tez giriş ve sonuç hariç yedi ana bölümden oluşmaktadır. İkinci bölüm çalışmanın kuramsal çerçevesini geliştirmektedir. Üçüncü bölüm 1991 ve 2002 yılları arasındaki Rusya-NATO ilişkilerini incelemektedir. Dördüncü ve beşinci bölümler sırasıyla NRK’nin kuruluşunu ve NRK işbirliğinin Rusya-NATO ilişkilerindeki rolünü tartışmaktadır. Altıncı ve yedinci bölümler 2002 ve 2014 yılları arasında Rusya’nın vi NATO’ya yönelik politikalarındaki değişimleri incelemektedirler. Sonuç bölümü öncesindeki sekizinci bölüm ise Ukrayna’daki krizi ve bu krizin Rusya-NATO ilişkilerine etkisini tartışmaktadır. Anahtar kelimeler: NATO-Rusya Konseyi (NRK), İşbirliği, Rusya-NATO ilişkileri, liberalizm, realizm DEDICATION vii To My Lovely Wife and Daughter viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertatiion would not have been possible without the support of my supervisor. Therefore, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Oktay F. Tanrısever for his academic as well as personal support, insights, guidance and advice. He helped me so much by formulating my thesis structure, convincing me to make changes he regarded necessary, listening my complaints and trying to find solutions to the problems that I faced throughout the process of writing. Without his limitless help and whole-hearted kindness, this dissertation could not have been written. I would also like thank to members of the dissertation committee; Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı, Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fırat Purtaş and Assist. Prof. Dr. Taylan Özgür Kaya for their constructive comments and contributions to the manuscript. They kindly spared time from their busy schedules to read my work and come to my dissertation defense. Special thanks to Assist. Prof. Dr. Taylan Özgür Kaya for travelling to Ankara to attend my dissertation committees. I am also very grateful to other professors of the International Relations Department of Middle East Technical University. Their kind support, guidance and patience over my graduate years have been a great value. I would like to thank to the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) for its financial support through BİDEB-2215 Scholarship Grant for foreign Ph.D students. It proved to be very important contribution for the completion of the dissertation. I am also very grateful to Turkish Ministry of Education for not only providing financial support but also accommodation and other needs throughout my studies. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to research assistants of International Relations Department of Middle East Technical University for their invaluable motivation and friendship during the completion of the thesis. Special thanks to my very close friend from IR department Mehmet Zeki Günay for his friendship and morale support throughout my studies. ix Last but not least, I express deepest thanks to my family. I am very grateful to my wife Aikanysh Eshnazarova for her invaluable support and motivation which helped me finish this process. I have no proper words to express my indebtedness to my parents Janyl Nazarova and Bektursun Biyaliev, who always supported me and believed in me during this process. Finally, I wish to express my sincerest thanks to my brother and sisters Eyler Biyaliev, Astra Toktogulova and Roza Bektursunova for their continuous support. x TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ................................................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... iv ÖZ .................................................................................................................................... vi DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. xi LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... xvii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... xviii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Scope of the Study ................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Literature Review .................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 11 1.4 Theory and Methodology of the Study .................................................................. 12 1.5 Main Argument ..................................................................................................... 14 1.6 Structure of the Thesis ........................................................................................... 14 2. THEORETICAL APPROACHES