Opportunity in Crisis: Russia's Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Douglas, Lauren

Opportunity in Crisis: Russia's Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

dc.contributor.advisor	Cruise, Rebecca
dc.contributor.author	Douglas, Lauren
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Morais de Sa e Silva, Michelle
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Grillot, Suzette
dc.date.accessioned	2021-05-24T13:31:41Z
dc.date.available	2021-05-24T13:31:41Z
dc.date.issued	2021-05
dc.date.manuscript	2021-05
dc.description.abstract	Sweeping the globe in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has delivered one of the greatest shocks to the international system in recent history. Beyond presenting a health crisis, the pandemic has affected global trade and international cooperation, granting it the potential to widen cracks in the international system or accelerate trends in power transition. As a state that desires a shift in global distributions of power, Russia stands as a valuable subject of analysis in the context of the pandemic. How has Russia pursued its national interests through its foreign policy responses to the pandemic? Are Russia's actions formulated towards the pursuit of any particular goal, or simply a reaction to an unexpected crisis? By identifying Russia's major national interests and examining Russia's foreign policy responses to the pandemic, this paper finds that Russia’s international pandemic response was primarily designed to increase its power and status on the world stage, largely by means of undermining the West. The first chapter identifies Russia's major national interests as: (1) defense of the country and regime, (2) great power status, (3) a multipolar international system, and (4) non-interference from Western powers. These interests are all underscored by opposition to a Western-dominated international system and thus relate to an ultimate goal of rearranging global power distributions in Russia's favor. Chapter 2 examines Russia's main responses to the pandemic, including: (1) the development and global distribution of Sputnik V, (2) Russia’s framing of itself and the West, (3) the use of information warfare, (4) Russia’s domestic response, and (5) posturing at the UN. Analysis reveals that all of Russia’s responses fall in line with one or more of its national interests, thus ultimately contributing to a goal of increasing Russian power and status—particularly in opposition to the West. More broadly, this research demonstrates how states may take advantage of disruptive events in the international system to advance national interests.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/11244/329734
dc.language	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Russia	en_US
dc.subject	Covid-19 pandemic	en_US
dc.subject	Coronavirus pandemic	en_US
dc.subject	International relations	en_US
dc.subject	Crisis response	en_US
dc.subject	national interests	en_US
dc.thesis.degree	Master of Arts in International Studies	en_US
dc.title	Opportunity in Crisis: Russia's Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic	en_US
ou.group	David L. Boren College of International Studies	en_US
shareok.orcid	0000-0001-8610-0237	en_US