Continuity and change in the Soviet and Russian foreign policies in the Middle East: The cases of Egypt and Libya (1943-2017)

This study aims at exploring and unveiling the continuity and change components of the Soviet and Russian foreign policies in the Middle East towards Egypt and Libya throughout modern history. It seeks to figure out the factors which play a crucial role in Russian foreign policy towards the given Arab states in the different period of time. To do so, a primary research question and five sub-research questions have been put forward. The paramount question following: What was the Russian foreign policy trajectory followed throughout their history with Egypt and Libya? In order to clarify the main research question, there are five sub-questions which are as follows 1. What are the main foreign policy principles Russia pursues in regards with the Middle East, particularly towards Egypt and Libya? 2. How does the Russian foreign policy towards Egypt and Libya differ from that during the Soviet Union and after its collapse? 3. How has Russia perceived the uprisings in Egypt and Libya? 4. How have the Arab uprisings affected Russian-Egyptian and Russian-Libyan relations? 5. What are the main lines of the "new" Russian policy towards the post-Arab uprising Egypt and Libya? To investigate the contemporary Russian foreign policy with regard to Egypt and Libya, the interpretive approach and descriptive historical method have been applied throughout the research. As for the sources of information, both first and second-hand accounts have been utilized. The first-hand sources are transcripts of doctrines and agreement texts. As far as second-hand sources are concerned, some various books, academic and analytical articles, both published and unpublished Master and Ph.D. degree dissertations, documentary films and also the news reviews have been used. The above-mentioned information has been available in English, Russian and Turkish. In order to examine Russian foreign policy applied to Egypt and Libya, a number of series of foreign policy doctrines and domestic political, economic and social factors according to which Russia has interacted with players in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt and Libya, regional events and dynamics of international systems have been scrutinized in the following three chapters. The 1st chapter examined the USSR-Egyptian and the USSR-Libyan relations. The 2nd part of the paper focused on the analysis of the Russian Federation's foreign policies towards the given states. The 3rd part was dedicated to the investigation of the recent political situation in Egypt and Libya, and Russian foreign policy towards the rapidly changing socio-political directions in the Middle East.