ABSTRACT
The concluding chapter summarises the most important findings of the book and their implications for RFP, role theory, and more generally foreign policy analysis and international relations scholarship. The role theoretical framework shows that the internal and external factors in RFP are so strongly intertwined that the interactions of the two should be at the heart of the analysis. It also demonstrates that foreign policy-making processes in Russia are more complex and include more actors than commonly assumed. In addition, the study demonstrates the existence of general, permanent roles and temporary ones, strongly dependent on the current situation. Furthermore, it reveals two types of role change. The first is related to the strategic use of roles and shifts in the dominant national role conceptions during important international events (like regional crises), while the second one concerns more fundamental and long-term changes in the leadership perceptions of the state’s duties and responsibilities. The chapter also reflects on the study’s limitations and the avenues for future research.
