摘要：Melding quantitative methodologies with pre cise writing, eminent political scientist William Zimmerman sheds light on one area of post-Soviet governance: the link between, and disparities among, social elites and the masses in formulating foreign policy in contemporary Russia. Using data collected during the tumultuous decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Zimmerman explores how various major groupings in Russian society develop their respective opinions toward a variety of foreign-policy positions. Tracking and interpreting data at different points in “demo cratic” Russia, The Russian People and Foreign Policy explores how an individual’s politics relates to his or her market orientation; how the elites influence the masses’ development of foreign policy; how one’s view of the international system links with electoral behavior; and how Russians reacted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) expansion into Eastern Europe. This book stands out among modern works on Russian society, making significant academic contributions in the areas of democratic consolidation, development of a solid theoretical foundation, and enlightened implica tions for Western practitioners of foreign policy.
