Event supported by the UC: Clashing Visions: Russian Foreign Policy in the Age of Xi

On May 25-26 2017, St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford hosted the 'Clashing Visions: Russian Foreign Policy in the Age of Xi and Trump' conference. The University Consortium was pleased to be able to provide support for this timely initiative. The event provided a thought-provoking examination of three critical dimensions of Russian foreign policy: the Russia-West relationship, Russia’s relations with the near abroad, and the Russia-China strategic partnership. These dimensions were explored in tandem with other related issues such as the Russia-China competition for influence in Central Asia, maritime security, and the domestic drivers of Russian foreign policy decision-making.

On the first day of the conference, the above topics were explored across six panels, featuring leading British and international academics. On the second day, graduate students from the University of Oxford, other British universities, and University Consortium-affiliated institutions were given the opportunity to present their own research on the changing dynamics of Russian foreign policy. A selection of those papers can be downloaded from the links below:

  • 'Defending the East: Russian Military Exercises and the China Question, 2008-Present' Jack Stein, Harriman Institute, Columbia University
  • 'Minority Rights in Eastern Europe: How Slovakia’s Rusyns can Help Ukraine Towards EU membership' Joseph Heath, University of Oxford
  • 'China’s interest in the Central Asian Natural Gas Pipeline for its Energy Security and Diplomatic Strategy' Clémence Lizé, London School of Economics
  • 'Russia’s Normative Dependency and the War on Terror' Ivan Ulises Kentros Klyszcz, University of Glasgow
  • 'Russian-Belarusian Economic Relations after 2014: Change or Continuity?' Kacper Wańczyk, University of Oxford
  • 'Russia’s Shrinking Sphere of Influence: Steady Decline of a Great Power and its Implications for International Security' Vasif Huseynov,  University of Göttingen
  • 'Challenge to Stability Inside and Abroad: Internalization of the International Factors in the Russian Discourse' Maksim Kulaev, University of Tartu

For more information about the conference and its programme of panels, please find a link to the website here: http://oxfordclashingvisionsconference.com/