ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 provides a comparative overview of International Relations (IR) theories of state power and its goals. Before getting to Russia and its foundations of power as summarized in the notion of Derzhava, the chapter reviews various analyses of power as a condition for achieving what is morally just in human relations. Some theories prioritize moral justice above power, while others theorize power and justice as inter-related and mutually dependent. Power is defined as the ability to protect the Self from threats and to subject others to the Self's will. The chapter also reviews how states make international choices based on their leaders' perceptions of their nations' position in the global system of power relations. Their concepts of morality vary depending on whether their nations are strong, rising, declining, or weak. Finally, the chapter briefly illustrates how each of the listed choices was expressed in Russia's international actions and different schools of thought within Russian realism.
