The Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation vis-à-vis Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Potential for Conflict or Cooperation on the European Periphery?

The subject of the planned research project is the analysis of Russian foreign policy towards Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The study will on the one hand contribute to identifying actors in Russia's political landscape which are capable of having their socioeconomic and political interests represented in the foreign policy decision process or of becoming active in this process themselves. On the other hand, through the choice of the two countries the conditions for a cooperative or confrontative Russian foreign policy and Russia's potential to function as a second integrative center in Europe will be explored.