Routledge
Soviet Strategy in the Middle East
Key Metrics
- George W Breslauer
- Routledge
- Hardcover
- 9781138919815
- -
- -
- Political Science > International Relations - General
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
Few regions of the world are as politically turbulent as the Middle East, and nowhere is the potential for superpower conflict greater. How does the Soviet Union view the Middle east conflict? Can the USSR play a constructive role in the peace process? In this volume, first published in 1990, these questions and others central to an understanding of Soviet strategy in the region are addressed. Previous analysts of Soviet-Middle Eastern relations have tended to emphasize either the cooperative or the competitive aspects of Soviet behaviour. Breslauer instead offers the multidimensional concept of 'collaborative competition' to describe the mixed motives, ambivalence, and sometimes conflicting perspectives that have informed Soviet strategy in the region. In such an unstable environment. this strategy of collaborative competition has in turn encouraged 'approach-avoidance' behaviour; for example, while the Soviets may seek to moderate their radical allies, they remain fearful that these allies, once moderated, might defect to US patronage. Under Gorbachev, the Kremlin continues to pursue this same strategy but with increased attention to improving collaboration, redefining the nature of the competition, and easing the approach-avoidance dilemma. Breslauer argues that these changes could lead to more flexible Soviet behaviour in the region. This volume combines new, in-depth research on Soviet policy with new interpretations, including insights drawn from relevant theories of international relations.
Author Bio
George W. Breslauer was born in New York City on March 4, 1946. He received his BA, MA, and PhD degrees in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1966, 1968 and 1973, respectively. In 1971, Professor Breslauer joined the faculty of the Department of Political Science, University of California at Berkeley, as a specialist on Soviet politics and foreign relations. He advanced through the ranks to full professor of political science, was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award of the Division of Social Sciences in 1997, and was appointed Chancellor’s Professor in 1998.
Professor Breslauer is the author or editor of 12 books on Soviet and Russian politics and foreign relations, most recently Gorbachev and Yeltsin as Leaders (Cambridge University Press, 2002). He has served as Editor of the scholarly quarterly, Post-Soviet Affairs (1992 to the present). Professionally, he also served on the Board of Trustees, National Council for Soviet and East European Research (1985-1991; Vice Chairman, 1988-1991), served on the Committee on the Contributions of the Social and Behavioral Sciences to the Prevention of Nuclear War, National Research Council (1986-1992), on the Board of Directors, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (1990-1993; Executive Committee, 1991-1993).
Professor Breslauer is a member of the American Political Science Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, the World Affairs Council of Northern California, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the Council on Foreign Relations (New York). At UC Berkeley, Professor Breslauer served as Chair of the Center for Slavic and East European Studies (1984-1994), Chair of the Department of Political Science (1993-1996), Dean of the Division of Social Sciences, College of Letters and Science (1999-2006), and Executive Dean of the College of Letters and Science (2005-2006).
He is married to a Cal alum, Yvette Assia Breslauer (’77), has a daughter, Michelle, who works in New York City, and a son, David, who graduated in spring 2010 with a PhD in Bio-engineering in the joint program between UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco.
Research Interests
Soviet Union
Russia
Political Leadership
Source: University Berkeley
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