Frustrated Leadership: Russia's Economic Alternative to the West

Abstract

Abstract The Russian government saw the 2008 global financial crisis as both a repudiation of western neoliberalism and as an ideal opportunity to promote its own international economic leadership. Russia's alternative vision encompasses multipolarity, financial nationalism and political illiberalism. These policies are symbiotic. The state uses its control over financial flows to build and maintain political and economic power at home as well as to project its influence abroad, all justified with a strong dose of great power nationalism positioning Russia as the Eurasian pole in an emerging multipolar world order. However, the Kremlin is doomed to frustration in its quest to assert international economic leadership. The Russian government has the ability to shake up the existing international order but lacks the credibility, stability, or economic clout to lead the creation of a new one. This has troubling implications for the future of international economic cooperation and reform, as Russia's frustrations have increasingly turned it in reactive and confrontational directions.