Date of Award

1-1-2019

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Political Science

Content Description

1 online resource (v, 581 pages) : color illustrations.

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Rey Koslowski

Committee Members

Victor Asal, Bryan Early

Keywords

American Foreign Policy, Arctic, Constructivism, Geopolitics, International Political Economy, Russian Foreign Policy

Subject Categories

History | International Relations | Political Science

Abstract

This dissertation explains how and why Russia has expanded its sphere of influence in the Arctic and why the United States has not assertively balanced this expansion. In doing so, I show that regional spheres of influence are historically and socially constructed. While material and security concerns motivate state behavior, I show that states also develop institutions, identities and interests that influence their relationships with each other and cause them to approach regions in different ways that are not readily explained by realist or liberal assumptions of how international relations should work.

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