№ 1 - 2004
Kulagin V.M.
The Regime Factor in External Policies of Post-Soviet States

The author discusses a complex of issues pertaining to causal relationships between the quality of political regimes and the character of foreign policies of the respective states within post-Soviet expanse. As a preliminary, these regimes are classified (“liberal”, “partially liberal”, “non-liberal”). Special attention is given to eliciting the characteristic regularities of the international behaviour of “transitional” (“partially liberal”) regimes. Possible effects of the results of the recent elections in Russia on democratic states’ interaction with her, are also discussed. In conclusion, the author points to the increasing significance of the regime factor among the conditions determining the character of the post-Soviet states’ behaviour in external politics.