Durham E-Theses Russia's Great Power Ambitions: The Role of Siberia, the Russian Far East, and the Arctic in Russia's Contemporary Relations with Northeast Asia CONTRERAS-LUNA, RAFAEL How to cite: CONTRERAS-LUNA, RAFAEL (2016) Russia's Great Power Ambitions: The Role of Siberia, the Russian Far East, and the Arctic in Russia's Contemporary Relations with Northeast Asia, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12034/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail:
[email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 RUSSIA’S GREAT POWER AMBITIONS: THE ROLE OF SIBERIA, THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST, AND THE ARCTIC IN RUSSIA’S CONTEMPORARY RELATIONS WITH NORTHEAST ASIA ________________________________________________________________________ Rafael Contreras Luna Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Government and International Affairs Durham University 2016 i ABSTRACT Being at the confluence of two worlds – East and West – has had long-term influence on how Russia has thought of its national identity, in particular prompting the question: to what extent is it joining or resisting these two worlds? This thesis argues that Russia’s self- perception of being a great power – greatpowerness - defines its status and position in the world.