Ted Hopf’s Co-Edited Book, “Understandings of Russian Foreign Policy,” Becomes a Critical Spectacle in the Field of IR to Study Contemporary Russian Foreign Policy

 A group of international scholars from North America, Asia and Europe teamed together under the support and guidance of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. They aimed to create a theoretical discussion that can help gain new insights into how contemporary Russia conducted its foreign affairs post the fall of communism.

Since archived resources were not enough, they also drew on interviews pertaining to major issues surrounding Russia’s decisions about using military force in Chechnya. They also wanted to represent its reactions to the NATO expansion as well as its emergent relations with the East Asia and Japan. Ted Hopf helped push forward the bounds of this theoretical innovation by co-editing the book.

As a professor of Political Science at renowned universities, Ted Hopf has worked on countless publications surrounding international relations theory, identity and qualitative research methods with particular references to the Soviet Union and the former Soviet space. He is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki Collegium.

Previously, Hopf was on the faculties of the National University of Singapore, Ohio State University, Ohio University and the University of Michigan. He received his bachelor’s from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University before becoming the successful author and co-editor of several books, articles and published journals.

Speaking about the book, a political science researcher shared, “The volume is revolutionary as it encapsulates the credible contributions of several renowned professors and scholars that have provided insights with approaches ranging from novel spatial-cultural frameworks to Lacanian psychoanalysis of sweeping the historical research. It will be particularly valuable for scholars interested in cutting-edge IR theories in relation to the post-Soviet region.”

Andrea Lopez, Henrikki Heikka, Eunsook Chung, Christer Pursianen, Sergei Medvev and Hiroshi Kimura have also contributed to the book. They have used several conventional approaches but Ted Hopf’s approach, constructivism or theories about the “democratic peace,” has received commendable success when applied to critical empirical cases, including the Russian behavior in “near abroad” or the Chechen War.

About Theodore Hopf

Born in 1959, Ted Hopf is a leading figure in academia. He is well-known for his credible work in constructivism in International relations theory. Hopf is also known for being the Provost Chair Professor in the Political Science Department and various prestigious universities. He is currently working as a Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki Collegium. He has written and edited multiple books, publications, journals and articles after graduating from Princeton and Columbia University.

More Information

Journals and articles: https://tedhopf.com/journal-articles/

Awards: https://tedhopf.com/awards/

Grants: https://tedhopf.com/grants/